25: Kate Mason, on winning Ballarat Marathon, and not taking running too seriously

Kate Mason was found dancing with tambourines and maracas in a Ballarat carpark just hours after she won the marathon there. And with a win, a course record and a PB of 2:33:55, why wouldn’t you?!

In this episode of Run With It, Kate recaps her race, including some critical changes she made to her fuelling this time around, and the post marathon carpark DJ set with her training mates. The full-time secondary school teacher (Outdoor and Environmental Studies & PE) trains with her beloved Ninch Track Club (NTC), based on the Mornington Peninsula, just outside of Melbourne.

Kate takes us through her transition from an enthusiastic and passionate “jogger” who debuted at Melbourne Marathon in 3:06 in 2014, to winning Ballarat a decade later. She also shares some terrifying experiences of getting the “wobbles” and collapsing during marathons, recounting a particularly scary instance on the Gold Coast.

Despite not yet seeing herself as “elite”, Kate continues to improve. She thinks some of her success comes from not taking the sport too seriously. Kate is self-coached, with guidance from her partner Ben and her training crew. The ep closes out with some pencilled in plans for the rest of the year and what motivates her to keep rocking up every day in the dark at 5am for a run.

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Run With It: @runwithit.pod

Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom

Graphic design by Kate Scheer