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Kathy Potter runs to her father's landing spot after skydiving
Unique Journey Brought Kathy Potter to Purdue Fort Wayne
9/22/2020 5:00:00 PM | Women's Cross Country, Women's Track and Field
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - For Purdue Fort Wayne sophomore Kathy Potter, the transition from being a sprinter in junior high to a Division I cross country and distance runner was not an easy one.
But with the help of the memory of her father, Kenneth, who passed away while she was growing up, helped her make that transition a little easier.
Potter's father was in the army before he met her mother, which allowed him to travel and see different places. He lived and worked in Saudi Arabia and Potter's mother joined him there after moving from her home in the Philippines.
When Potter was born, she held citizenships in three countries: the United States, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. When she was seven months old and her family moved out of Saudi Arabia, she lost her citizenship because of their laws surrounding residence. She still has the other two.
Because of his time in the army, Kenneth loved to skydive, and greeting him when he landed was one of Kathy's favorite things to do every Sunday. She would run to the landing area and give him a hug, welcoming him back down to the ground. This would be the beginning stages of Potter's running career.
When she reached junior high, Potter became a sprinter on the track and field team. Her physical education teacher had another thing in mind, and suggested that she start running cross country.
"He told me that I seemed like I could be a distance runner because he saw us run the mile," Potter said. "I didn't know about that, but I made a promise to him to try."
At the end of her eighth grade track season, Potter's father told her that he was a distance runner in high school.
"When he told me that, that gave me the motivation to try it and succeed," Potter said. "That was biggest reason I wanted to do distance in high school."
Kenneth passed away the year Potter entered high school, so the promise she made to her P.E. teacher carried over to her father. When she first started running distance, however, the transition was clearly not going to be simple.
"It was so tough," Potter said. "The first practice I ran a 5k and it was pretty easy, but the next day when I had to run three miles, I had to walk. I was like 'this is so difficult.' But now I can run 13 miles easily."
When she was midway through high school, she started receiving calls and Instagram direct messages from college coaches wanting her to run for their programs.
"Sometimes it was stressful because there were so many of them," Potter said. "And it's so hard to figure out a way to tell them no."
There was one program that she didn't have to tell that she wasn't interested. When Purdue Fort Wayne entered the picture, she fell in love with the campus and in particular the student housing options. She committed to continue her cross country and track and field career as a Mastodon.
Now that she is competing at the Division I level, Potter's father still plays a pivotal role in her athletics.
"If my dad was here he would want me to do well, but he would also be there to support me if I didn't," Potter said. "If I had a bad race my mood would be so terrible, but now that it's been years and I've been able to handle it. If I have a bad day I know not to stress out about it too much."
In her freshman season at Purdue Fort Wayne, Potter competed in the 3000 meter, 5000 meter, and distance medley relay in the track and field season. Her PR in the 5K in her cross country season was 19:00.2. Her sophomore season in 2020-21 will be the first season of competition for the Mastodons in the Horizon League.
But with the help of the memory of her father, Kenneth, who passed away while she was growing up, helped her make that transition a little easier.
Potter's father was in the army before he met her mother, which allowed him to travel and see different places. He lived and worked in Saudi Arabia and Potter's mother joined him there after moving from her home in the Philippines.
When Potter was born, she held citizenships in three countries: the United States, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. When she was seven months old and her family moved out of Saudi Arabia, she lost her citizenship because of their laws surrounding residence. She still has the other two.
Because of his time in the army, Kenneth loved to skydive, and greeting him when he landed was one of Kathy's favorite things to do every Sunday. She would run to the landing area and give him a hug, welcoming him back down to the ground. This would be the beginning stages of Potter's running career.
When she reached junior high, Potter became a sprinter on the track and field team. Her physical education teacher had another thing in mind, and suggested that she start running cross country.
"He told me that I seemed like I could be a distance runner because he saw us run the mile," Potter said. "I didn't know about that, but I made a promise to him to try."
At the end of her eighth grade track season, Potter's father told her that he was a distance runner in high school.
"When he told me that, that gave me the motivation to try it and succeed," Potter said. "That was biggest reason I wanted to do distance in high school."
Kenneth passed away the year Potter entered high school, so the promise she made to her P.E. teacher carried over to her father. When she first started running distance, however, the transition was clearly not going to be simple.
"It was so tough," Potter said. "The first practice I ran a 5k and it was pretty easy, but the next day when I had to run three miles, I had to walk. I was like 'this is so difficult.' But now I can run 13 miles easily."
When she was midway through high school, she started receiving calls and Instagram direct messages from college coaches wanting her to run for their programs.
"Sometimes it was stressful because there were so many of them," Potter said. "And it's so hard to figure out a way to tell them no."
There was one program that she didn't have to tell that she wasn't interested. When Purdue Fort Wayne entered the picture, she fell in love with the campus and in particular the student housing options. She committed to continue her cross country and track and field career as a Mastodon.
Now that she is competing at the Division I level, Potter's father still plays a pivotal role in her athletics.
"If my dad was here he would want me to do well, but he would also be there to support me if I didn't," Potter said. "If I had a bad race my mood would be so terrible, but now that it's been years and I've been able to handle it. If I have a bad day I know not to stress out about it too much."
In her freshman season at Purdue Fort Wayne, Potter competed in the 3000 meter, 5000 meter, and distance medley relay in the track and field season. Her PR in the 5K in her cross country season was 19:00.2. Her sophomore season in 2020-21 will be the first season of competition for the Mastodons in the Horizon League.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
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