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Introduction

Katie Camarena isn’t your everyday pro. She wasn’t a runner at a power school, nor was she a national champion or a first-team all-American. And sometimes, that’s ok. There are many paths to becoming a pro, and Katie might just have the most interesting one out there right now!

After getting her undergrad at UC Santa Barbara, Katie ventured to Portland State, a Division 1 school in the BigSky Conference, to finish out her career. While there, she did some great things:

• She set 7 school records (Cross Country: 4k, 5k, 6k; Indoor: 800m, mile, 3k, 5k)

• She became the first PSU woman to qualify for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships

• She became PSU’s first qualifier for the NCAA Indoor Championships since 2013

After a great final NCAA season, Katie kept working at the craft. For a year, she was a lone wolf training out of Flagstaff, AZ. But, after a string of great performances in the summer of 2023, Katie caught the eye of Tinman Elite. Now, she is one of two women on a bourgeoning new roster and is looking to do some major damage at the pro level. But enough of that, let’s get to know Katie!

The Interview

Hello Katie, welcome to The Hammer. How we doing?

Hello Austin. I am doing so well!!!

You're coming off The Sound 10k where you ran 32:00, a pb. How's the body and mind feeling after that GRIND of a race?

My body was feeling pretty rough for a couple of days after, but I feel like I’m back to normal now. It was definitely mentally taxing and it’s easy to be hard on yourself when you “fail”. I wanted to run 31:30 and it was hard to stay engaged and compete in the race when I realized that reaching that goal wasn’t possible anymore. But, I am feeling a lot better about the race now.

How do you typically deal with disappointment in racing (I know you had really high hopes for The Ten)? Do you have a process?

I think the best way to deal with disappointment in racing is to reflect back on the journey and the process. I was disappointed to not run 31:30 but after reflecting on how far I’ve come since I started running, and even in the last couple of years, it’s easier to be happy with this result. My 5k PR when I graduated from UCSB was 16:29, so it’s pretty amazing that I can run faster than that for twice the distance now. I also try to be realistic with goal setting before the race, so this wasn’t really a failure, I just missed my “ultimate” goal. I think that 32:00 is a great time, especially for my first 10k on the track, and I’m excited to race it again now that I know what to expect.

Let's reverse a little bit. In the fall, you joined Tinman Elite after having a very good post-collegiate season in 2023. What was the process like of joining a team with no women on the roster?

I was moving around after lot offer college, trying to make running work without a contract. And it started to get to the point where I wasn’t having fun because I was so worried about getting into a more stable situation, i.e., a contract of some sort. Then, I met Savannah and she mentioned she was talking with Tinman Elite and that they really wanted to start a women’s group. She got me in contact with Marc Hunter and the process went from there. I was definitely hesitant to join a group with no women, but I knew that Savannah would be joining and there are plans to add more women. It’s pretty exciting to be the start of the women’s team, and it feels like we’ve always had someone to train with - each other or the guys or Marc/Joan on the bike, so it hasn’t felt lonely!

I feel like all pros go through changes in perspective about the sport as we go along... do you think anything has changed with how you view running? Has your perspective changed since turning pro?

Definitely! I’ve had a lot of phases of how I feel about running.

In high school, it started as a way to get out of PE. And then as I got better, it became something that I wanted to do because I was having a really fun time and I loved competing. It was pretty crazy to realize I could do it in college! In college, it went in waves. It was really hard to adjust during my first year, I wasn’t having consistent success, I was injured a lot, and I just wasn’t loving it. I would have these glimpses when I would be healthy and racing where I remembered why I loved running and why I was doing it but then something else would happen and that cycle continued until my 4th year when the pandemic started. Because I was in a redshirt year as the pandemic started I didn’t race from May of 2019 until April of 2021. And when I was away from it for so long I realized how much I enjoyed it and that I took it for granted. It was like, “You don’t know what you got til it’s gone”. I was so excited to have the opportunity to transfer, have a 6th year, and see how good I could be — I just loved running again.

And then to go from an amazing final NCAA season to being an unsponsored pro was such an abrupt difference. I was struggling to race well because I was putting so much pressure on myself to run certain times and get a contract, and I just wasn’t having fun. It was like I was back to being a freshman in college! I would catch the occasional glimpse of why I loved it so much, so I kept going.

At the end of last summer, I went to one more race after USAs and told myself to have fun with no expectations and surprised myself with a PR in the mile…And now I get to do this as my job…Which is so crazy! I feel like high school me would’ve never believed that I could do this. I’m in a good place with running now. I feel like I’m a lot better at just enjoying running and the process rather than associating my love for running with race results.

Is pro running all it’s cracked up to be?

I think so! It’s pretty crazy that my job is to spend a few hours a day running around with my friends! And pro running has allowed me to meet so many people and taken me to so many cool places!

What advice do you have for other aspiring runners?

Make sure you are enjoying the process & having fun with it! It’s easy to get caught up in our own pressure/expectations but at the end of the day, we are running because it’s fun and we enjoy it. I always run better when I am having fun and keeping things fun and light helps to take away the pressure.

What does a good 2024 look like for you...what will make you content?

A good 2024 looks like a season that I can be proud of! I want to make the Olympic trails and the final of the 5000. I want to run under 15:00 for the 5000. I want to do all that I can to be successful - focus on recovery and nutrition and all the little things. And if I set myself up for success, and I don’t reach those goals, then I will be content knowing I competed as hard as possible each time I had the opportunity to race and that I enjoyed doing it!

Rapid-fire questions

• The coolest person on TME is _______

The coolest person on TME is Joan 😎

• A funny running-related memory plz

On a run with my teammate at UCSB, Miranda, and we started uncontrollably laughing so hard that neither of us could keep running. I don’t even remember why we were laughing! But it was that kind of laugh where you can’t breathe and are crying. People were looking at us like we were crazy.

• What's your dream DMR team?

Can I put myself on it? Haha. This team would be so iconic and I would love to be able to run first and then witness greatness all on a relay together!

1200 Me - 400 Sydney McLaughlin - 800 Athing Mu - 1600 Nikki Hiltz 🔥

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