kate murphy was like most kids – involved in many activities when she was young like swimming, ballet and cross-country. but unlike most, she was able to turn one of her hobbies into a career.
her love for the water began at a very young age and mid-way through her high school years, she decided to focus all of her efforts on swimming alone. her dedication paid off earning her a scholarship to division i level colgate university. her collegiate team swam two-a-days and had 3 hour long saturday morning practices. their goal was to not only swim fast but to build a strong team dynamic both in and out of the water. the team’s chemistry helped lead them to two patriot league swimming and diving championships while kate was in college.
kate is now the assistant coach of the sunkist swim team, a year round team that is very similar to the team she swam with as a kid. she is also the coach of the swim team at brandon high school. in her free time, she enjoys helping people of all ages improve their abilities in private lessons.
after college, kate missed her structured routine and the team environment. she found herself a little lost in her personal fitness routine and missing her swimmer’s body! but with the help of a personal trainer and her new love for running, she has found that she’s back in the groove. on her way back to tip-top shape, she plans to compete in the fit to lead 5k at the end of the month, the 12k’s of the holidays in november, and as part of a relay team in the mississippi blues marathon. she also plans to tackle her first triathlon in 2013. she still manages to swim on her own a good bit and recently broke two mississippi state short course meter records in the open age group. she swam the 50 meter free in 28.00 beating the record of 28.33 held since 1982. in the 100 free, she went 1:00.43 besting the previous record of 1:01.19.
kate believes there are many things mississippians can do to become healthier, like family walks and/or bike rides around the neighborhood or park, joining the metro ymca to swim or taking swimming lessons. another change we can make is to choose produce for snacks over anything that comes out of a package and drink water over soda. as a former athlete, she thinks about food as fuel for the body above anything else. she thinks even the smallest of changes can make a big difference on the individual level. if more individuals, families and communities make healthier swaps, mississippi will be on it’s way to being a healthier state.
