An excess of success

As she stepped to the starting line in the Danskin women’s triathlon a couple weeks ago, Kathy Morrisson had a hunch.

Turns out the 38-year-old Kent woman was much better than her hunch.

Morrisson, a marathon veteran who is in her second year of doing triathlons, came in fourth place on Aug. 17 in the Seattle stop of the nationwide Danskin series. She went the distance – a .75-kilometer swim (slightly less than half a mile), a 20K (12.4-mile) bike ride and a 5K (3.1-mile) run – in 1:09.47.

Another Kent competitor, Jessica Polack, was eighth overall in 1:10.10.

“I had an idea that I could be in the top 20, top 10 maybe,” said Morrisson, a 1988 graduate of Kent-Meridian High School. “Beyond that, I hadn’t given it much thought.”

The event was won by Erin Ford of The Dalles, Ore., in 1:02.08. But Morrisson, who did cross country and track during her days as a Royal, was, just like most competitors, racing against herself and her stopwatch.

“You just don’t really know what’s going to happen,” she said. “You never know who’s showing up, and I don’t know all of the names.”

The Danskin was Morrisson’s fourth triathlon this year after she competed in seven in 2007.

Ironically, she never saw herself as a triathlete until she hooked with Covington-based Raise the Bar, a club that specializes in training people for triathlons and which was profiled recently on July 30 in the Reporter.

“I was a marathoner – I went to Boston three times,” said Morrisson, a veteran of eight marathons overall. “I started swimming with Raise the Bar, and I also work there. I spent a year cross training, but I said ‘I’m never going to do a triathlon.’

“Then I did one at Five Mile Lake in Federal Way … and ended up placing third overall. That was kind of overwhelming. It kind of set a bar that I had to beat.”

Swimming is the most challenging part for Morrisson. But one that part is out of the way and she get onto her pedals and her feet, she finds her groove. She got out of the water in Seattle in 64th place, then had the fifth-fastest bike ride and the 13th-fastest run.

“I think running is my strong suit. But if you look at my ranking whenever I bike, it’s biking (that’s my strong suit),” said Morrisson, who came out of the water to rank fifth in the bike ride and 13th for the run

Whether it’s triathlons or marathons, Morrisson’s endurance background comes in handy in real life, too.

When she’s not swimming, biking or running, Morrison is the mother of three, and in addition to working at Raise the Bar, she’s a substitute teacher, PTA president and Girl Scout leader.

“I always did 5K and 10K runs,” she said. “I started marathons in 2003 after my kids were a little older. I’m going to do a halfathon in Florida in November.”

No hunches yet as to how well she might do in that race.

But don’t be surprised if Kathy Morrisson is better – and faster – than her hunch.