Meet the Elite – Catriona Morrison
Last year was a very exciting year for Catriona Morrison. It is hard to believe that already being a multiple Commonwealth Games team member for Scotland, multiple World Duathlon Champion and top five at the World 70.3 Championship, Catriona took it up a notch in 2010. After starting the year revering from surgery, by mid-summer Catriona had the fastest ever Ironman debut by a women (and 6th fastest all-time) at Challenge Roth. Just three weeks later, she travelled across the pond and race the inaugural Calgary 70.3, where she placed 3rd in a very tough women’s field.
PB: After the Calgary 70.3 race, you spent three weeks in Calgary training. Did you like training in Calgary? How did your training in Calgary set you up for the rest of the year?
Training in Calgary was a slog! But it was a good slog. I found the altitude change hard to deal with but the three weeks that I spent in town certainly paid off as I had a great race on at Timberman 70.3 just a few weeks after the Calgary event. Once I found out how to get out of town without getting lost I really enjoyed the riding and had the company of some great friends to keep me entertained.
PB: Catriona, you had so many great races last year. What, in your mind was your best race of 2010?
It’s hard to pick I think that my best race performance wise was the ironman distance race in Roth. I had no idea what to expect with it being my first attempt at the distance. The venue was superb, the organisation fantastic and the race was fun (sort of!). As far as race experiences go,I have to rate Calgary highly as not only was the race super, but I had the opportunity to catch up with loads of close friends.
PB: On your way to Kona this year, you same down with H1N1 but still managed to finish. How will your experience there last year set you up for the future?
I was gutted to have travelled so far, been so fit and then to spend the week prior to the race grovelling on the sofa. However, I had invested so much time, energy and money getting to Kona that I decided that I would start if I felt up to it. I knew that it was not going to be the race that I wanted. Having now been through the build up, been on the course, experienced the weather conditions and the emotional highs and lows I am confident that this year all this will stand me in good stead.
PB: You were recently voted Scotland’s 2009 Sports Women of the Year. What does this honor mean to you?
It was fantastic to have triathlon recognised in the mainstream media. So few people are aware of the sport in general that any push into the national psyche can only be a positive thing. It’s great to be able to visit my local schools and show the kids the award and get them motivated and inspired to invest time and energy into sport.
PB: What are your intended races and training camps for 2010? Do you see yourself coming back to race Calgary 70.3?
At the moment I am in Spain where the weather is currently just like a bad day in Scotland (not so good). I am hoping to do an early season ironman race to qualify for Kona, then stick with some half ironman racing for the mid season. I also plan on taking a month off racing in the summer to concentrate on training before looking towards the later season races of the world duathlon championships and Kona. Calgary is on my plans….
PB: Who are your 2010 sponsors?
At present I’m a bit thin on the sponsor front so top of the list I have to put my wonderful hard working husband! I am hoping to finalise all my 2010 sponsors by the end of this month so keep an eye out on www.catmorrison.com for updates.
Related posts:
