Ergon REMOTE Athlete Spotlight
We’ve got athletes all over the nation. Congratulations to our Remote Athlete of the Quarter, Kat!
“My name is Katheryn Nolen-Harrison. I’m 28 years old, and was born and raised in Houston,TX. I’m currently stationed at Ft Bragg, NC with my husband Matt Harrison and our 6 month old daughter Aoife Lionette Harrison. I started CrossFit back in 2018 when I arrived to Ft Campbell, KY for my first duty assignment. I had just finished IBOLC and Ranger School. My body was broken and I had no fitness goals because for the last 4 years of my life I had been focused on Ranger School and all my fitness training had been geared towards passing that school. I couldn’t run because of plantar fasciitis in both feet and I didn’t know how to do any of the Olympic lifts but I needed something. I can still remember waking into Ergon for the first time and being super nervous but knowing I wanted and needed someone to work with me one on one to get back to a place where I could feel confident about my fitness again.”
What are your favorite and least favorite movements and why?
“My favorite movement is probably rope climbs and anything upper body heavy. My years of swimming in high school have caused me to be upper body dominant which is a good and bad thing! My least favorite is bar muscle ups. I still get mental blocks on those sometimes and it really depends on the day if I can hit them or not!”
How do you stay motivated to keep on your journey?
“Recently my motivation has changed. I’ve always wanted to be a good example for others but now I want my daughter to grow up and see her mom working hard in the gym. I’d like her to see me striving to improve myself no matter what. Having a young kid has taught me that I have to take advantage of every moment that I can to get into the gym and get work done to keep improving. Im in the stage of my life where we plan to continue growing our family and I know it would be so easy to let my fitness fall off the wagon because I don’t see all the improvements I want to see but I’m taking this time as an opportunity to grow as an athlete in other ways. Im learning how to balance training with family life and what postpartum recovery looks like and how to train during a pregnancy. I hope to one day take all these skills I’m learning and maybe be a coach myself.”
What advice would you have for newer athletes?
“No matter how silly you think you look or how weak you feel just know there are others out there looking at you and wishing they could do what you could do. There’s always a chance to be an example for others to follow and that is a huge responsibility. CrossFit, or really any sport takes time and patience. If you stick with it you will see improvements over time and suddenly you’ll find that you will be doing things you could only dream of before!”
Any other thoughts, encouragement, advice?
“The best advice I can give is to find a coach. Having someone who’s always in my corner no matter what season of life I’ve been in has made all the difference. Walking through the doors of Ergon all those years ago has made me a better athlete, a better wife, a better mother and just a better person overall!”
Thanks for being such a great part of Ergon Elite, Kat!
