Articles about KB
During my Olympic quest, I did a few interviews with some sports and news websites. Here are a couple links to The Bleacher Report, while the interviews with Sports on My Mind and Jelly Belly are posted in full below.
Interview: Bleacher Report part 1
Interview: Bleacher Report part 2
INTERVIEW WITH Sportsonmymind.com, AUGUST 2008.
What is it like for you this year watching the Olympics that you tried out for? Any favorite events or “I could have done that” moments?
I definitely felt more connected to these Olympics than any of the past Games I’ve watched. There was never a feeling of bitterness or remorse because I couldn’t be there myself, in fact it was just the opposite… I was so excited to watch all the sports which I now have a personal connection to! It was amazing to watch the cycling road race and time trial and see the girls I’d raced with in Asia and South America. Not only cycling, but the other sports I tried as well. I watched pentathlon and triathlon and racewalking and it was so amazing to be sitting in my living room, staring at the TV and say “Hey, I know her!” As for the “I could have done that” moment, I prefer to put that statement in the present tense as in “London 2012, I can do that.”
Of the sports you tried to qualify in, which one was your favorite?
Well, cycling has my heart and soul but team handball was a really unique experience. That sport was so difficult, foreign, and fun for me. It beat me up pretty bad, too. What really stood out to me was the work ethic and team dynamic of women on the US national team. They work so hard in a sport that no one in America knows exists, and I know it is just a matter of time till they get their shining moment.
If team handball was the most impressive team, who was the most impressive athlete you met while competing?
I’m a multisport athlete, so can I pick three? Ok. This is very hard to narrow down. I’m going to go with Kristin Armstrong, who kicked my butt at nationals in cycling and then went on to grab the gold medal in the time trial in Beijing. I didn’t meet her as much as smile and nod hello, but I’m going to count her anyway. Margaux Isaksen, the 16 sear old modern pentathlete (who held my hand through my whole pentathlon experience) really impressed me. Imagine being 16 and being so proficient in 5 sports that you make the Olympic team on your first attempt? Wow! And finally, I’m going to go with Reggie Douglas, the national triathlon champion of St. Kitts and Nevis. He embodies such a love of sport and such a great outlook on life. Ok, one more…Marianne Vos, the current world champ in cycling. She was an amazing competitor and really humble athlete, a real team player. It was an honor to race and learn from her. Also, one athlete I really wanted to meet but didn’t get the chance: Sheila Taormina, the 4x Olympian who has made history by representing the us in three separate Olympic sports; swimming, triathlon, and modern pentathlon. She is simply amazing and inspiring.
What, if anything, do you hear from friends/acquaintances at the Olympics?
I heard from my friend Philip Dunn, who represented the US in the 50K racewalk. It was really great to get an email from him the day before he competed! Felt like I was right there in the Olympic Village.
What is the mindset of the elite athletes? Training can take a terrible toll on health, romantic relationships, family, and work/school; how do they do it?
Well, I can only speak for my bizarre mindset, but yes, there are definitely physical, mental and emotional prices to pay in reaching for high-level athletic dreams. The good news is that if an athlete has a healthy mindset, everything is worth it. Training smart will reduce any negative toll on health/muscles, athletes can learn to balance a family and training, and the demands of school and work can be worked into any schedule with the right prioritization. If an athlete truly loves their sport, they can make it work. As for relationships, believe it or not, this isn’t as complicated as one might think. We’re just gluttons for drama, but it can usually be avoided. Here’s my golden rule: If your dreams “cause” the end of a relationship, then it isn’t the right relationship.
What’s the oddest souvenir you picked up on your athletic journeys?
I ate a chicken foot in China. Well, not some much ate as quickly swallowed. That was unique! I definitely picked up a bad case of wanderlust. This project brought me to five continents, and I only want to see more.
How do I get my very own Wonder Minion?
Alas, there is only one WonderMinion! WonderMinion’s real name is Amanda Chavez, she’s a cycling friend of mine from Tucson. One day we were at a friend’s house for dinner and she said something like “Kathryn, do you need a minion to help carry your crap when you go race overseas?” Heck yeah, I did! Cyclists travel with some major baggage (literally and mentally). Not only that, but she’s fluent in Spanish and she saved me on more than one occasion when I raced in Venezuela, Uruguay and El Salvador. All hail the WonderMinion! Without Amanda, I’d be lying by the side of an El Salvadoran volcano right now. Or probably in it.
One thing that impressed me is how you kept a good sense of humor despite all the complications in reaching your goals. When did you come the closest to quitting, and how did you keep going?
If I’ve learned one thing in life, it is the necessity of humor. There is a lot of great stuff in this world and there is a lot of bad stuff, and if you can learn to thwart the bad stuff with humor, then everything flows a lot easier. Trying to get to the Olympics in less than two years (with cycling, I had less than eighteen months) was pretty much a guarantee that nothing was going to be smooth or easy. Besides, at the end of the day, I truly understood how lucky I was to have such an incredible opportunity. Even the worst days were nothing short of awesome in the long run. I never considered quitting, though there was one day in El Salvador in the middle of an 11-day stage race where I came down with a fever and some intestinal issues. My body really wanted to throw in the towel that day, but my mind talked my body out of it. I still don’t know what my mind said or why my body bought into it, but I thank them both.
Is there a difference in mental preparation for the contact/non-contact sports?
Considering my aversion to contact sports, it took a lot more mental power to go up against the handball girls than it did to get on a bike for six hours. Then again, I’ve been in some full contact situations on the bike, too. I think both sports share the same mental preparation in the end; be ready for anything.
Now that you’ve done it, how do you feel about dual citizenship arrangements at the Olympics? Were there any countries that you would have felt uncomfortable with their citizenship, or does sport transcend national lines?
I think dual citizenship situations are terrific and yes, sport definitely transcends national lines. In Beijing, it was pretty clear to me just how many countries have a variety of diverse/ethnic citizens competing for them. Including the USA. Personally, I don’t care how any athlete comes to compete for any country if they represent that country with pride and honor. Sports are a wonderfully contagious entity…if an athlete can help a country to breed a sports legacy in any given field, I see that as a great attribute to that nation. We Americans get so caught up in patriotism that we often lose its true meaning. Patriotism doesn’t mean “America first” or “America only”. True patriots look to help not only their country but other countries as well. When I had the opportunity to obtain dual citizenship with St. Kitts and Nevis, I saw it as “America and.” I’m very proud to race for St. Kitts and Nevis. It’s okay to love two countries at once. Doesn’t hurt anyone, you know?
How do you feel about female athletes posing for men’s magazines such as Maxim?
Personally, I don’t have a problem with it at all. I think female athletes should be on the cover of every men’s and women’s magazine, whether clothed or unclothed. We don’t necessarily need to show these athletes with their mouths hanging open while slithering over sudsy, expensive cars–that’s a little too glam rock for me–but I have no problem with an athlete showing off her hard-earned, beautiful body in any manner she deems appropriate. What I do have a problem with is our nation’s concept of beauty. I look forward to the day when semi-clothed or naked athletes replace the airbrushed, anorexic, pill popping, mammary inflated, intelligence deflated “models” with droopy size 0 clothes that somehow grace 80% of our magazine covers. That is where the controversy ought to be.
Final thoughts about your experience and your upcoming book?
I’m really excited for my book to come out. There are a lot of chapters and experiences and sports that did not make it into my online column for ESPN, due to space/time, etc. The book will definitely be the unabridged version! This is actually my second book. My first one, All the Sundays Yet to Come, is a memoir from my professional figure skating days. It came out in 2003. Maybe when I write my own personal Da Vinci Code they will finally release All the Sundays… in paperback. I won’t hold my breath. Anyway, I am looking forward to ESPN publishing my Olympic journey in March 2009. I’ll be sure to keep you posted! Thanks for the interview, MCBias!
INTERVIEW WITH JELLY BELLY CANDY COMPANY, SUMMER 2006
Team Sport Beans/NTTC’s resident Renaissance woman is without a doubt Kathryn Bertine. A figure skater since childhood, she’s competed in national competitions and performed professionally. She also ran track and rowed competitively, but now focuses her athletic energies on triathlon, just recently WINNING the Danskin New England Women’s Tri!
If that wasn’t enough, Kathryn is also a published author; her critically-acclaimed memoir “All the Sundays Yet to Come” is an honest, humorous and heartfelt chronicle of her experiences on the pro skating scene. She also writes columns for various sports publications and coaches ice skating, yet still found the time to sit down and answer some questions from Jelly Belly. Meet a true queen of all trades, Kathryn Bertine!
Jelly Belly: You were a very accomplished figure skater, even skating professionally. Do you think you took figure skating as far as you could?
Kathryn Bertine: Yes. As an amateur I made it to the highest level in skating: senior ladies. While that enabled me to compete with the best women in the sport, I was definitely one of the lower branches on the Olympic-potential talent tree. Then again, there weren’t any Sport Beans back then, so who knows? Maybe I could have been a better athlete if you’d debuted your electrolyte beans 20 years ago….where were you? Huh? Well, I’m glad you’re here now.
JB: Did you ever feel that something like the Olympics was within your reach as a skater?
KB: I started skating competitively at age 11, whereas most Olympic skaters start training immediately upon exiting the womb. I worked very hard to climb the ranks in skating, but I knew that there was little chance of making the Olympic team. There are 250,000 members in the US figure skating association. The chance of making it to the top three in an Olympic year was, shall we say, slim. But reality and optimism can peacefully coexist; I wanted to be the best skater/athlete possible, and I was willing to see where that might take me, Olympics or not.
JB: What role did you play in The Ice Capades? How about Hollywood on Ice?
KB: The third Smurf on the left. Just kidding. Ice Capades folded soon after I joined, so my role there was, um, invisible. But in Holiday on Ice and Hollywood on Ice, I had a bunch of small roles, ranging from little solos to group routines. Sometimes I was in a giant costume, like an elephant, other times I was in sparkly, itchy sequin-bedazzled garb. Pro skating was nothing like amateur skating; it was more about how you looked than how you performed as an athlete.
JB: What made you leave the pro skating scene, and what drew you to triathlon?
KB: For the very reason I mentioned, the professional world of skating no longer valued the ideals of athleticism. As a kid, I trained 3 or 4 hours a day on the ice, which is such a combination of aerobic and strength conditioning. Skating routines are very athletic—a four minute routine feels the same as running full speed on a treadmill and hopping off every 20 seconds to do squats, then hopping back on again. Anyway, I missed that kind of intensity and that kind of work ethic. So I left the pro world of skating after a year and went to grad school in Tucson. As soon as I got there I thought, “Look at all these cyclists. Maybe I’ll get a bike.”
JB: How did you do in your first tri?
KB: I won, which is terrible. No one should ever win anything on their first attempt. It’s all downhill after that (laughing). I did the Rocky Point Triathlon in Mexico (Olympic distance), and I nearly melted into the pavement. Quite a change from the ice rinks I was used to. I didn’t understand the concept of wave starts (staggered starts with different groups of people), and there was a 50 year-old woman who was “ahead” of me crossing the finish line. People kept telling me, “You won, you won!” and I said, “No, she won, she won.” Eventually I understood, but no one should try to explain anything to me at a finish line. Brain. Not. Well. Work.
JB: How long do you normally take to recover from a triathlon before you begin training/racing again?
KB: Recovery always intrigues me. Sometimes I feel fine the day after a race, other times I seem to contract rigor mortis. After an IRONMAN® (triathlon), I usually just do some light swimming for two weeks and maybe an easy spin on the bike. After Olympic-distance races, I take about two or three easy days then get back into training for the next race. When the season ends, usually in November, I take six weeks off of all strenuous exercise. It really saves the body and refreshes the mind, and prevents burnout for the following season. And it gives me time to catch up on all the things I neglect for most of the year: paperwork, taxes, other boring aspects of adultness.
JB: Which part is your best – swim, bike or run? Which is your personal favorite?
KB: Oddly enough, my skating muscles transferred well to the bike. I love swimming, too, as it was the most foreign of the three sports for me to learn. I seem to do okay with it. And running, which I did all through high school, is my area in need of most improvement. My personal favorite would be the 4th sport: the transition area. I have very fast transitions. All that skate-lacing must have helped. If the transition was an Olympic sport I’d be a major, major contender.
JB: Is there anything that you learned in your years in skating – physically/mentally/emotionally – that helps or has helped you in your triathlon career?
KB: Physically, ice is nicer to fall down on than asphalt. Mentally, after skating in an outdoor rink at 5am in the northeast for 10 years, no swim is ever cold. Emotionally, triathlon and skating are exactly the same – you get out what you put in. And the bad days tell you more about yourself than the great days. Whether you wipe out on every jump in a national competition or you have to walk 16 miles of an IRONMAN® race, it all comes down to whether you’re strong enough to get up and keep going. Skating instilled that in me, and I’m incredibly grateful for the lesson.
JB: How does the training between the two compare? How about the diet?
KB: While the work ethic is the same, I definitely invest more time in triathlon. Skating isn’t a high-endurance sport; no one trains for six hours straight on the ice as a triathlete would on a bike. As for diet, I’m definitely on the “More, please” diet when it comes to triathlon. As an amateur skater I had a healthy appetite as well, but in pro skating they want you to be a Barbie doll, so I was on the ‘hey, pass the rice cakes” diet and that was treacherous and evil. No athlete should ever have to do that, which was another reason I left that lifestyle.
JB: When you skated in those ice shows, did you know of any skaters you performed with that felt the same way you do? Was anyone open about it?
KB: The majority of the skaters on the tours were not healthy. A lot of them smoked, drank, did drugs, or binged/starved themselves – when I say the pro world of skating was the opposite of amateur skating, I’m not kidding. No one was really open about their issues, but you could see it in their daily behavior patterns. The tour lifestyle seemed to be an unhappy existence for a lot of people, which is true of most careers/jobs where employees are not respected and/or treated poorly. Perhaps some companies were better than the ones I worked for, so I’ll try not to stereotype. Looking back on my pro skating experience, the positive aspect is that it really fostered my athletic desires and helped me gain perspective on what is important in life. My triathlon life grew from the ashes of my old skating dreams, so I see that as a positive! Also, for the past three years, I’ve been fortunate enough to get on the public speaking circuit. I speak out on eating disorders and athleticism, encouraging female athletes to stay true to their bodies and be proud of their strength and muscles. I was a keynote speaker for the American Dietetic Association in 2004, and I hope to continue with this for as long as people will listen to me babble.
JB: Let’s talk about your writing. Without giving anything away, why did you choose “All the Sundays Yet to Come” as the title of your memoir?
KB: The title comes from the fact that in amateur skating, skaters always tried to get to the final round of competition, which was usually held on a Sunday. In pro skating, Sunday was the total opposite of all things strong and athletic; Sunday was the day the management weighed us to see if we were getting fat. I hated that; it was so wrong and demeaning to female athletes. So, when I made the decision to leave pro skating and become an athlete again, I wanted a sport that would re-instill a healthy, competitive lifestyle. I wanted all the Sundays yet to come to incorporate striving to be my best. I was psyched when I learned most triathlons took place on Sundays. It felt like coming home, as cheesy as that sounds.
JB: How long did it take you to complete the book, and while you were writing it did you still pursue athletic endeavors?
KB: I was contracted to write the book in 18 months, but I finished it in 10 – typical triathlete, right? Yes, I competed as I wrote. I find that my writing and my athleticism suffer terribly when they don’t train together.
JB: Which is more satisfying, completing your memoir or winning a triathlon?
KB: Oh jeez! That’s like asking if I prefer breathing or eating. They are both incredibly satisfying, and I’m lucky to have ever known either feeling. I will always be a writer and an athlete, but there is never any guarantee of a win or a book deal, so when either one comes along I really revel in the moment as long as possible. I’m a reveler. Definitely.
JB: Are you working on any writing now? Can you see yourself writing a novel about your triathlon career?
KB: Yes, I’m writing a book for ESPN on the Beijing Olympics in 2008. It is quite an interesting project, but instead of going into all the details here (It would take up a lot of space) please check out my website: KathrynBertine.com in the next few months. Let’s just say it is the opportunity of a lifetime for any athlete/author. In the future, I definitely want to write a book about triathlon; I’m not sure if it will be a novel or memoir or perhaps a very bad epic poem, but I know that I can’t write it while I’m still in the sport. I need the perspective of time and distance, and that’ll come later when I retire from triathlon.
JB: Back to athletics. Do you believe that you are physically gifted, or is your athleticism all due to your drive and training?
KB: Oh, I’m gifted alright! Gifted in choosing sports that kick my butt. You know those people who, upon winning a big event say, “It just felt so easy today.” I have no idea what they’re talking about. I had to work very hard to turn pro in skating and in triathlon, and though I may never be the best in either, I’m really proud of the journey. If I have any gift, it is perseverance. How to keep going–it is the one, true thing my body understands. I have to milk that for all it is worth.
JB: Do you have a favorite tri in which to compete? How about a least favorite? Please elaborate.
KB: My favorite race is (Escape From) Alcatraz in San Francisco. In 2005, my 68 year-old father and I both did the race. It was really great to see him complete such a difficult event, and an inspiration I’ll never forget. He came in towards the back of his age group, and I came in towards the back of the pro field (it was one of my first races) so it was a very “like father, like daughter” moment. We also do the Westchester Triathlon together in Rye, New York. In addition, I really like IRONMAN® Lake Placid, the Tucson Tri series, and the wacky, crazy Survival of the Shawangunks triathlon in New Paltz, New York. This race is insane: 30mi bike—4.2mi run—1.1mi swim—5.5mi run—.5mi swim—8mi run—.5mi swim—.7mi uphill run to the finish. You have to take your shoes with you on the swims. Every triathlete should try this race once. As for least favorite events…any race where the temperature is above 85 degrees. They cook me.
JB: What other sports are you a fan of, if any?
KB: I really like hockey. Let’s Go Devils! Also, I was a rower in college so I’m a big fan of rowing, but they never broadcast that on TV. And skating, obviously. I glue myself to the Olympics; I’ll watch everything.
JB: Are there any sports that you are dying to try, but haven’t yet? Are there any sports you would NEVER try?
KB: I would love to try track cycling, kayaking, modern pentathlon and it would be really cool to see what fencing is like. There are not many sports I wouldn’t want to try. Except balance beam. I’ll skip that, thank you.
JB: You’ve lived in Bronxville, NY, Tucson, AZ and now Boulder, Colorado. Are those three places as drastically different from each other as they seem, and have you experienced any culture shock?
KB: They are all very different. Tucson and Boulder have very similar, ideal conditions for the outdoor athlete, although Arizona summers can be rough. Boulder is known for its altitude and tri-mecca image; it is a great place to train. Growing up in a suburb of NYC was extremely sheltering, and I knew I needed wide open spaces to thrive as an adult. And I love upstate New York. I went to college at Colgate University and as a skater I trained in Lake Placid every summer. I try to get back to that area as often as possible. I’m a sucker for the Adirondack Mountains and cow-studded farmland.
JB: Your current life consists of training for and competing in triathlons, writing columns for various publications and coaching ice skating. Honestly, does a Kathryn Bertine day contain more hours than the average person’s, like say – 30 or 35?
KB: I wish! I’d love a 30-hour day; that would be awesome. My life is just as busy as anyone else’s, but whereas most people have one career, I have three part-time careers so it just creates an illusion that I’m super-busy. I do try to cram in a lot of different experiences, though. I like being busy. It makes me feel like I’m getting the most out of life.
JB: How have you learned to organize all of your endeavors? Do you ever slow down and relax, or even want to?
KB: I’m pretty good with time management, another thing I learned from skating. During each practice, a skater has to work on jumps, spins, choreography, new skills, etc., so one really learns how to budget time effectively. That trickled over into my life off the ice. I have learned to relax a bit better as I’ve gotten older. I’m approaching an age (31) where a lot of triathletes begin to feel their muscles and joints more so than in their twenties. I fully believe in rest days, and I think my body has rewarded me for it. The ultimate luxury for me is to sit down and read a great book; feet up and Xoom Juice smoothie in hand. That is my secret training weapon – physical rest, mental stimulation, and happy taste buds. Don’t tell anyone, ok? I’ve also started to incorporate rollerblading and skate-skiing into my cross training, and it adds a new level of fun to the routine.
JB: Last question. Which milestone will you reach first (and we’re holding you to this): winning an IRONMAN® tri or hitting #1 on the NY Times Bestseller List?
KB: Wow. Well, I have to say I’d love for both to happen someday. I’m going to go with the IRONMAN® win as a personal preference for the immediate future. Triathlon, for the most part, is pure. Everyone on the start line has a chance of winning. There is something honest, true and incredibly refreshing about that. Publishing on the other hand, is so political. Today, corporations are in charge of what constitutes literature. I lost a lot of respect for the bestseller lists when Paris Hilton’s “book” appeared on the top 20. Maybe that’ll be my post-triathlon mission, to found the Federal Bureau of Literary Investigation. I hope Sport Beans will sponsor us! Thanks so much for the interview. It is a pleasure racing for Jelly Belly/Sport Beans/NTTC.
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We want to congratulate Kathryn on all her accomplishments. Someone with her energy and drive can’t be anything but a success. If you want to learn more about Kathryn Bertine, her athletic and literary endeavors, visit her own personal website atKathrynBertine.com, which she updates when she’s not traveling. If you want to contact Kathryn, you can email her espnolympian@aol.com . For updates on Team Sport Beans/NTTC, keep tuning in to JellyBelly.com and NTTCracing.com!