Meet Female Athlete Project Member Kat B.
Where you located? And who are you outside of your adventures?
I’m Kat, I’m 42, and I live in Bozeman with my family, where I'm spectacularly failing at retirement from my pharma strategy/science career. I serve on the boards of BSF and the LGS Foundation
What sports/adventures/races are you training for or did you train for?
I'm training for life. I want to be hiking the M and skiing with my grandkids when I'm 80, and I know that starts now. I'm a fitness generalist who loves hiking, running, lifting, biking, swimming, and pilates. Getting to occasionally run races like the JBR or Rut? That's just icing on the cake.
Why did you want to be a part of The Female Athlete Project? What were you hoping to come from the partnership of coach + dietitian? What was your overall experience like?
Montana imposter syndrome is real. Anywhere else I'd be "active," but here I was working out next to world-class athletes and doubting myself. The Female Athlete Program gave me a safe place to train hard within my limits (previous injuries, busy life) while pushing what I thought was possible. Working with Colleen, I learned to fuel well, train smart, and I'm now stronger and healthier at 42 than I was as an ultrarunner in my 20s.
Tell us about your race or adventure if you've completed it. How did it go? What was hard? What was great? Did you hallucinate a leopard in a hammock like Courtney Dauwalter?
After a severe mountain biking foot injury, I was told it might be disabling. My modest hope: rebuild to run 5 miles on trails. Last summer I ran the JBR 10-miler—my first trail race in 15 years—and it felt like a miracle. Spending those hours playing in the mountains with friends, surrounded by the incredible support of volunteers and other athletes, reminded me exactly why I love this sport.
Tell us about your nutrition experience and what you took away from working with a dietitian.
As a woman who grew up in 90s diet culture, I inherited the "smaller is better, achieved by eating less" message—never reconciled with the fact that strong bodies need fuel. Add in social media marketing for protein and supplements, and I'd lost the plot on how to actually fuel an active body.
Colleen broke it down in the simplest, most supportive, non-judgmental way. Her wisdom lives rent-free in my head: "Carbs are Queen! Eat what you want, add what you need." I now know how to eat for different training intensities, my recovery includes chocolate milk, and—most importantly—I'm breaking the cycle by teaching my 8 yo daughter to fuel her body so it can do amazing things in the Montana mountains and beyond.
Do you have any sage wisdom (big or small!) for other athletes out there training their hearts out?
My loudest cheers are always for the people just starting (or re-starting). Those first steps are the hardest—scary, intimidating, uncertain, painful—and yet they're showing up anyway. That courage? That's the most amazing part of this whole fitness thing. So: Good job! Be patient! Go get 'em!
What is your why? Can you share the process to discovering it and what it has meant for you?
My dad died at 45 from a preventable lifestyle-related disease. I want to stay strong and healthy for my daughter and any kids she may have.
What’s your biggest dream race/adventure?
The Bridger Ridge has been taunting me since 2010. Could 2026 finally be the year I answer back?
If you were stranded in the mountains and came across a woodland witch that would feed you anything you wanted in that moment, what would it be?
Nerd Clusters, obviously. Any why is this witch limited to the woods? I would like to request her presence in my living room.