In 1955 an Air Force nurse from a small town in Nebraska met, fell in love, and married a big-city Army guy from Brooklyn. This all happened while both were stationed in England. Yes, they were Kathy’s parents. Knowing Kathy as well as we all do, I think it’s easy to see a wonderful combination of big city and small town. At times Kathy is quiet and reserved and at other times take charge and adventurous. Often she’ll sit and listen to others talk about their upcoming running challenges only to find out later that Kathy was on her way to her own running adventure.

Mom and dad ended up in Scotia, NY a couple of years later. This small town probably felt very comfortable to Kathy’s mom but must have been a shock to dad. He was now a New York State trooper, and this was the barracks he was assigned. Kathy came along in 1959 and didn’t leave Scotia until she started nurse’s training at a teaching hospital in Schenectady, NY.

At 23 Kathy left her family and moved to Bradenton. She admits wanting to see if she could make it on her own and thought, “Why not do it without snow?” She had earlier checked out Manatee Memorial Hospital only to be told to come back when she lived in town. Her car packed with everything she owned, Kathy moved to Bradenton and within a few days joined the nursing staff at Manatee Memorial and has been there ever since. If there is ever a lull in conversations during a run, dinner, or road trip, ask Kathy, “Anything happen at work today?” The only thing I’ll say here is, “A lot of strange objects have been lost only to be recovered after a visit to the ER.” Her folks still live in the same house in Scotia, NY so when Kathy visits it’s always a trip down memory lane.

Kathy joined the Air Force Reserve at McDill in 1988 as part of their medical evacuation group. Her mom had failed to become a flight nurse (she couldn’t swim) so it was a special moment for both when mom pinned Kathy’s wings on at Flight Nurse School. While other reservists were involved in sweltering field exercises, Kathy’s reserve unit was taking weekend trips in their C130 to locations as colorful as New Orleans and Bermuda. When Iraq invaded Kuwait, things changed. Kathy volunteered and spent 2 ½ months at a base outside of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She returned to action again when the presidential call-up occurred. This tour sent her near the border of Kuwait and Iraq. Here again her unit was responsible for staging the evacuation of the wounded. Captain Kathy Hansen left the reserves in 1993 for medical reasons but has always remained a patriot and strong supporter of the military. This I know because Kathy and I are often the only two on the “right” side of political discussions. It often takes two of us to straighten Alan and Norman out.

Concerned about turning 40, Kathy read an article in Runners World that in some respects changed a significant portion of her life. It’s amazing sometimes how insignificant actions cause many of us to change directions. We only realize how significant those things are in retrospect. The article chronicled Tawni Gomes’ coming to her senses at 30 while carrying nearly 300 pounds on a 5’4” frame. Tawni had just completed the Portland Marathon, having been inspired by Oprah Winfrey’s running of the 1994 Marine Corps Marathon. If you remember, a number of years ago Oprah had hired a trainer who set her on the path of doing a marathon. It was a big deal at the time because Chicago assumed that she would stay home and do their marathon but she chose the Marine Corps instead. Predicting a time of 4 hours 30 minutes was quite a gamble on Oprah’s part because the whole country knew it. I was there that year and remember standing at the finish with hundreds of others waiting for Oprah to appear. When she rounded the corner and finished, everyone looked at the clock to watch her finish two minutes under her predicted time. Tawni was stuck in her hotel room while on a business trip and watching Ophrah’s September 1996 show. This was the show where Oprah revealed her secret – “an iron clad commitment to regular exercise and healthy eating.” This show coincided with the publication of Oprah’s book Make the Connection. After buying the book Tawni describes “dragging her heavy limbs from between the sheets and walking as far as she could the next day.” This was a total of six excruciating blocks. She then went online looking for a pat on the back or at least a sympathetic ear. She was seeking a running/walking group for overweight women. There wasn’t one so she created her own website – www.connectingconnector. Kathy credits this website with starting her on an adventure that continues today. This website allowed Kathy to communicate with others that were interested in starting a personal running program. The surprising thing about Kathy is she picked the 2000 Disney Marathon as her goal before she laced on her first pair of running shoes. Many of us after running for a while sign up for a local 5K, but few pick a 26 miler before going out the front door. One of the first things Kathy did was call Alan. Yes, he was the BRC president way back then too. It was the Tuesday after that phone call that we first met Kathy, and now if we don’t see her car at the library on Tuesday night we know she is either working or on call.

Her first marathon at Disney in January 2000 was only the beginning. Less than 10 months later she did the Hartford Marathon. Tampa’s Hops Marathon in 2004 was Kathy’s 3rd only to be followed that same year by the Rock ‘N’ Roll in San Diego. In addition to the marathons Kathy has done the half marathon at Jacksonville, two Disney halves, and two Latin Classics. Having been on a few road trips with Kathy, I can tell you that she is invaluable. When Kathy is along, nobody needs a cab. Always being sober, she is our designated driver.

The YMCA has been a constant in Kathy’s life. Even back in Scotia her activities were not centered at school as much as the local Y. The same is true in Bradenton. She’s usually there three or four times a week. Leslie Thompson, who is a competitive swimmer, brags about Kathy’s swimming and especially her flip turns. The joke around the Y is that Tom Richardson, who swam for Arizona State, needs to take a lesson from Kathy in the flip turn.

Kathy can usually be found one night a week at USF in Sarasota. She’s been slowly working on her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and by taking a course a semester will graduate in 2008. She already has some plans for when she leaves nursing.

Let me end this by saying that Kathy is the only gal that Esther will let me date when she is out of town. This, of course, is because Esther knows Kathy has absolutely no interest in me. That being said, a while ago I begged Kathy to accompany me to a play at the Banyan Theatre. While standing in the lobby before the play and at intermission, I noticed that people were staring at us. I, of course, thought it had something to do with me landing a date with a much younger gal but then realized they were thinking that Kathy was giving me a night out from the “home”.