By Peyton Heller
Special Olympics Massachusetts Development Intern
Why Special Olympics? Katelin’s connection with Special Olympics Massachusetts (SOMA) started about 7 or 8 years ago when one of her close friends, who has a son with Down Syndrome, convinced her to get involved. Katelin began slowly with fundraising then participated in an LETR run as well as a polar plunge and she was hooked. She continued to get involved and volunteer more, and now years later, here she is running the Falmouth Road Race as part of the Special Olympics Massachusetts Xtra Mile team. Running since she was 14 years old and already completing about 6 races this year, this race adds to her total of over 100 races that she has participated in.
Katelin believes Special Olympics means inclusion and something for everyone. She thinks that sports, comradery and teamwork are things that everyone should get to enjoy, and she loves how Special Olympics really emphasizes that.
Growing up in Pembroke, MA, Katelin works at Avidia Bank as the Assistant Vice President of Social Media and Brand Communication. Since Avidia has been a long time partner and sponsor of SOMA, Katelin has lots of opportunity to work with SOMA and their different events, such as the Polar Plunge and the Tournament of Champions. Recently, Katelin has completed her first half marathon which has made her even more excited to run the 7-mile Falmouth Road Race. Between her pump up song, ‘Shipping up to Boston’ by Dropkick Murphy’s, her motto, “Keep positive about everything” and her husband and two best friends attending the race to cheer her on, Katelin is more than ready.
Preparing for her race, Katelin runs about 4-5 times a week with her runs ranging from 3 – 10 miles focusing on the longer distances on the weekend. With such a love of running, Katelin rarely struggles getting herself ready for a run and plans on focusing on how great she will feel after it is completed. Katelin loves the outdoors and really enjoys how she feels during a run. Katelin is determined to shorten her time during this race, so if you see her running, be sure to cheer her on!!
Best of luck on race day, Katelin!
Please consider supporting Katelin or one of the other Xtra Mile Falmouth runners!
Want to run Falmouth, bike in the Rodman Ride for Kids, or a number of other races? Join the Xtra Mile today!