XTERRA Trail Run World Championship
In March 2022, two-time Olympian Caitlin Patterson retired after a decade of professional ski racing, trading in her skis for a fresh start in a new career and city. Building a new community, learning the ropes at her job, and discovering what athleticism looks like with far more freedom is a lot to take on at once, and it's not without its difficulties. Yet, Caitlin embraces these changes with determination and resilience, ready to navigate the next chapter of her life.
"It felt pretty uncomfortable at times for me to have competed at the highest level of my sport and now to go to an entry-level job," says Caitlin. "But I'm growing and learning every day."
It's common to hear stories of athletes who dreamed of attending the Olympics from an incredibly young age. Caitlin was not that kid. Her mom, an avid skier who learned in middle school, introduced Caitlin and her brother to the sport early. Growing up in the snowy mountains of Idaho, Caitlin and her brother were on skis as soon as they could walk. This family pastime evolved into afterschool programs, local races, and eventually the Western States Festival kids' race series.
"My parents brought us to the Western States Festival when I was eight, and I did my first real race," she recalls. "That started to wake up the competitive fire in me. I wasn't the very best, but I was within the top three in at least one of the races."
Her early race results were respectable, though not outstanding. She was by no means a prodigy.
"There are a range of types of athletes, from those with quick natural talent to those who have to work hard over many years," Caitlin explains. "I’m more of an endurance and long-distance person with slow twitch muscles. It takes many years to develop the right strength and movement patterns."
Her years at the University of Vermont, where she skied competitively while completing her bachelor's degree in civil engineering, gave Caitlin time to build strength and hone her technique.
"I'd see someone who's faster than me, and I'd want to beat them. I'd want to win a college race, then a regional race," she says.
Clawing after those small goals eventually got Caitlin to the very top level—the Olympics. She was 28 years old the first time she attended and 32 the second time.
Caitlin had always been motivated to continue as a professional athlete because she'd seen progress, but a few years ago, the incremental gains she was making were no longer enough to get her where she wanted to go in the sport.
"I decided it was time to focus on something else and find new priorities in life," says Caitlin.
After graduating from college, Caitlin had set aside her intellectual pursuits to fully dedicate herself to ski racing. Towards the end of her career as an athlete, she began a Master's degree in civil engineering with a focus on structural engineering through John Hopkins University's remote program.
“In the last two years that I was racing, I realized that I needed to wake back up my brain if I was going to want to get into engineering soon,” she says.
At the time, she was living and training with her teammates in a farmhouse in northern Vermont. The necessary online course work was a welcome balance to the physical training she was doing. The farmhouse was also a phenomenally easy environment for always having a companion for activities.
"It was like having built-in friends and coworkers in the training world," she says. "There were takers for every run you could ever want to go for."
Moving from there to Portland, Maine, definitely took some getting used to. She has found herself in a city where she only knows a handful of acquaintances or friends of friends and with a job that requires her to plan activities around her 9-to-5 schedule.
"Now, not only am I reawakening my brain, but I'm also rediscovering my balance and priorities," Caitlin says. "I'm learning to build a new community and set goals beyond ski racing."
Adventuring without strict expectations is a new kind of journey for her. Ski training included mountain running and biking for cross-training, so Caitlin already had a strong foundation in other sports. But now, with more independence, she's leaning into the fun side of athletic activities and picking up other sports like rock climbing and kayaking.
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"I'm embracing that I can get out with friends and like-minded people and go run around in the mountains with them for as long as I want," she says.
Caitlin does a lot of running around Portland, fitting it in before and after work, ensuring she's maintaining her fitness so she can fully take advantage of weekend opportunities for adventure.
"I want to be ready at any time when someone says, 'Hey, do you want to go for a 30-mile run this weekend?'"
On weekends, she most often heads to the White Mountains in New Hampshire, a 90-minute drive away. The enjoyment of running in the natural world, traversing the lush, green sanctuary under canopies of towering pine and birch trees, has replaced making gains as her motivation for getting out. As the trails ascend and the terrain becomes more challenging, with roots and rocks forming natural obstacles, Caitlin finds a mental break from thinking about tomorrow's plans or work tasks. Her attention is drawn to a new flower or a bird she's never heard before. The rocky, exposed, high-elevation trails provide panoramic views and thrilling descents.
"I embrace all the sights and sounds," she says. "I might never see the same thing twice. Every outing is a fresh experience with new people and different memories."
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Caitlin has yet to abandon competitive pursuits entirely. Last year, she clinched the top women’s spot at the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship Full Distance Marathon at Sugarloaf Mountain. Under the bright foliage and sunshine, the diverse topography, long ascents, and technical downhill all made for an exciting race. She’s now looking forward to defending her title at the XTERRA Trail Run World Champs again this year.
For a decade, Caitlin identified as a competitive athlete, but now she engages that side of herself primarily when she dons a race bib, not wanting competition to define her entire identity.
"I'm pretty chill in day-to-day life," she says. "But because I'm competing less frequently, I can fully commit to the races I do. When I put on a bib, I'm all in for whatever I've got that day."
"When I put on a bib, I'm all in for whatever I've got that day."
Switching between these mindsets comes naturally to her. Early in her competitive career, Caitlin realized that allowing the intensity and pressure of competition to dominate her life would lead to burnout. Over the years, she has honed the skill of toggling her competitive drive on and off, maintaining a healthy balance between her racing ambitions and daily life.
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Now, Caitlin is steadily finding her stride in her new life; seeking out activity-focused friends who balance 9-to-5 jobs with outdoor adventures and enjoying the beaches and rolling trails of the coastal town she now calls home. She continues to navigate this major transition skillfully with resilience and determination. She's continually discovering and refining her equilibrium by balancing her intellectual pursuits with her physical fitness. Embracing her professional and personal passions, Caitlin is crafting a fulfilling life honouring her past achievements while eagerly exploring new horizons. But if one thing is guaranteed, when she puts on that bib at the XTERRA Trail Run World Champs on September 1st, she will be nothing short of all in.
XTERRA is a global lifestyle brand that champions the outdoor enthusiast in their pursuit of relentless adventure.
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