Age Group Champion Kathy Winkler

Dawn Henry catches up with the many-time Kona champ

"It's really a whole community," says busy single mom Kathy Winkler when asked to describe the effort behind her triathlon success over the last eight years. She attributes her ability to stay dedicated to her training to the devotion and support of her family and friends, and especially to the flexibility of her two teenaged daughters.

Those daughters are her first priority, which means being at home with them before they leave for school, and taking them to after-school activities – both are swimmers with year-round practices at different pools – having dinner together, and keeping up on homework.

A kindergarten teacher, a job which comes with its own strong dose of responsibility, Winkler says she strives to be a good role model for her daughters and for the kindergartners who grace her classroom each year. She encourages her students to focus on doing their own personal best. She tells them, "If you're putting out the best you can do that day, you can always look back and be proud of it."

She says she wouldn't be a good role model if she didn't live that philosophy herself. So she tries to keep this in mind in her triathlon training and racing. When she returns from training sessions and races, the faces of her daughters and her kindergarteners are her constant reminders of what she holds out as important, and how close she's coming to the mark.

Because her schedule is so tight, Winkler must take her training hours as she can find them – in the rain, in the heat, in the wind, in the dark. She regularly trains in the pre-dawn hours. She gets up as early as she needs to in order to complete her training and return home before her daughters leave the house at 7:00 a.m. She's out the door herself by 7:30. She may get another opportunity to train later in the day while her daughters are swimming. But that early morning time is the surest chance for her to do her sport.

Not only is Winkler a mom, a devoted teacher and a triathlete who regularly trains in the dark in order to make time for the sport she loves, she's also a world-class competitor. Winkler has qualified for, and competed in, the Ford Ironman World Championship five times since 2001. In 2001, Winkler's Kona debut, she won the W35-39 age group. In 2002, she came in second. In 2004, she placed first, and in 2005, she finished fifth. In 2006, moving up to the W40-44 age group, Winkler clinched second.

In 2007, Winkler visited Florida for the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3. There, she went away with a third place finish in the W40-44 age group. Winkler was the overall female winner at the 2005 Vineman Ironman 70.3. We aren't even delving into Winkler's other impressive finishes at Wildflower, Escape from Alcatraz, and many other races over the last several years.

How does Winkler consistently turn in these results? She insists that she doesn't come from a "glamorous" sporting past. When she speaks about her training, she doesn't talk about gear or nutrition or intervals or training hours.

She prefers to focus on what the sport means to her. She speaks of the tension relief her runs in the dark give her. She revels in the simple joy of being able to spend hours with a close friend during a long Saturday training ride. She believes it's a special treat when she and her daughters swim together in San Francisco Bay, or when her daughters ride bikes next to her on her runs. She speaks of the support she's received from her parents over the years. She talks about how much she likes to be outside, to be in nature, to be breathing fresh air.

In 2001, when she received her first qualifying slot for the Ironman World Championship, Winkler decided to take it, telling herself, "I'll probably never have this opportunity again." Now she says, "I feel like that every time I qualify … It is such an opportunity – it's very humbling to know who else is out there with you."

That word Winkler uses to describe her invitations to the Ford Ironman World Championship races – "opportunity." Webster's Dictionary defines "opportunity" as "a situation or condition favorable for attainment of a goal."

For Winkler, racing provides her with the opportunity to attain her goal – to do her best on any given day. Race days surround Winkler with tough, talented competition, and create for her an environment in which she excels.

Of her tremendous results since 2001, Winkler says, "I've been really lucky. You never know. When I see the people in my age group, and I'm just a single mom doing my thing."

This past spring, Winkler traveled to the Big Island of Hawaii to compete in the Ironman 70.3 Hawaii. In a year of ocean currents and Queen Ka'ahumanu winds, Winkler took second in her age group, earning an invitation to the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championship. If things go as planned, Winkler will be returning to Kona this October.

To "enjoy the moment" is the advice she gives her daughters. Determined to be a good role model, Winkler is giving herself the same instruction for Kona – to "enjoy" the opportunity. The opportunity that is a product of the community that makes triathlon possible for Winkler – family and friends, kindergartners, fresh air, fellow triathletes and race organizers. If past performances are any gauge, Winkler will continue to both enjoy the opportunity, and make the most of it.

You can reach Dawn Henry at dhenry@ironman.com