Meet Our Members: Kate Scott

Kate Scott moved to Maine 11 years ago and lives in Waterville with her daughter, Julia (14), and son, Ben (12).  She is an epidemiologist (and, thanks to the pandemic, can now say that without having to explain it!) and works from home as a Director of Informatics for the Medicaid division of a large health insurance company.​​

Kate running in the 2020 January Thaw.

​​I was inspired to start running by my big sister, Becky, an avid and accomplished runner.  I remember her, as a high school student, training for an annual road race in our hometown.  I was nine at the time, always wanting to tag along, and pestered her into taking me for a jog.  Eager to impress her, I ran as fast as I could muster for our half-mile loop.  I was proud of myself for keeping up, but also exhausted, and then totally bewildered when she deposited me at home and then took off for the rest of her run! 

​A few years later, I participated in a summer track and field program and ran my first race.  I loved the feeling of running fast!  Eventually I joined my high school cross-country team, and then continued with indoor and outdoor track.  Being on a team was an important part of my high school experience.  It gave me a sense of belonging, an identity, and the confidence to navigate the usual challenges of growing up.  My coaches taught me many life lessons, too, particularly in goal-setting, mental toughness, and the importance of being well-prepared.  I loved running so much that I also became a member of the Annapolis Striders, ran many road races, and spent my summers coaching kids.  Running was who I was.  And then somehow, in college, running stopped being fun for me. 

I quit running, focused on school, and didn’t run regularly for a long time.  Life happened.  A cross country move, graduate school, a career, a marriage, a baby, another move, another baby, another move (to Maine) and eventually a divorce.  I ran the occasional 5K or beach run while on vacation, but rarely much else.  Then, in 2018, while watching my daughter run at a junior high school track meet, I was reminded of how fun running can be.  The excitement of a track meet woke up my inner 16 year old and inspired me to train for a marathon! 

A marathon had always been a goal of mine, but I never quite got past the initial planning stages.  This time was different.  I joined the Central Maine Striders, made a pact with my friend Cynthia to run the Twin Cities Marathon in October, printed out a marathon training plan and promptly set about planning my life around my weekly long run.  It was a great summer and I enjoyed the journey of slowly adding more mileage, planning new running routes across bridges and over multiple town lines, and running the Quarry Road Summer Race Series.  My fitness improved and running all those hills prepared me well for keeping up with my big sister during an allegedly non-competitive family reunion group run. (After which she ran another 10 miles – true story!)  I also ran my first half marathon, the beautiful, but hilly, Triple Threat half marathon in Rockport, Massachusetts, which I finished in 1:53. ​

As September rolled around, my marathon partner got injured and I shifted my race plans to run the Maine Marathon instead, which was a week earlier.  Undeterred by the schedule change, I recruited a friend to bike with me on my longest run, and ran 21-miles at 8:28 pace.  I was so excited to log that accomplishment and eager for the big day to arrive.  I consulted regularly with my sister on final race preparations, and tried my best to slow down and survive the taper.  About a week before the race, after perhaps a few too many fast runs, I started to feel intense pain and could not run a single step.  I won’t go into the details of my injury here, but suffice to say I was physically broken and emotionally crushed.  My big goal – gone just like that!  I still went to the race and cheered on my sister as she took second in her age group in the half marathon.  After that, I spent the next year going to the doctor and enduring physical therapy.

This past November, after many ups and downs, I finally felt well enough to start running.  I really thought I would never run again, so I treasured each pain-free step.  During bad weather I ran laps around the new indoor track at the Alfond Youth and Community Center while my kids attended swim practice.  I attended a few Striders meetings and happily donned my new Striders hat while trying out winter outdoor running.  By January I was feeling more optimistic and recruited fellow swim-moms and Striders, Alicia Wilcox and Jess Beers, to run the January Thaw race.  We ended up with beautiful race day weather and I ran with Julie Millard, chatting the whole way.  I was thrilled to finally have an outlet for my un-run marathon and it was great to feel part of the running community again.

Running in the Triple Threat half-marathon in Rockport, MA

I continued to ease back into running with a few Striders pre-pandemic social runs and then, this summer the Quarry Road race series.  I recruited my daughter’s friend, budding runner Beatrice Beale-Tate, to join me and we eventually met up with a few other Striders to run the staggered-start time trial races each week.  Having a regular social event (and donuts!) to look forward to was a true bright spot in an otherwise uneventful summer.  My race times were faster than two years ago, but I’ll admit it felt much harder!  I was happy to complete the series without injury, and now also glad to cut back on the running a bit and take time to recover.  I’m learning to listen to my aging body and while I may never run that marathon, I hope to continue to run as long as I am able.

Luckily, being part of the Central Maine Striders doesn’t require being able to run the farthest or the fastest.  Recently, I’ve been participating in monthly Zoom meetings and helping to plan the Central Maine Striders first Fall Classic 10K on October 11th.  We are putting the final touches on our race day plans and look forward to seeing many of you at the starting line!

Kate and her daughter, Julia.