Keep Moving Forward - Q&A with Kirsten Sass

Check out our interview with World Champ Kirsten Sass. She has had one incredible year and we are proud to call her one of our own. The Mckenzie, TN native dominated the circuit in 2017 and has big plans for next year.

Make sure and follow Kirsten on her blog or on Instagram @ kirsten_sass.

Thanks again for the time Kirsten!



Before getting into the details of this season, can you tell us how you got started in triathlon and this crazy multisport lifestyle? Your dad seems to have a big influence on your racing. Did he introduce you to the sport?

He most certainly did!  Growing up in a small town in west TN we didn’t have swimming/cycling/track/cross country - or anything like that.  My father, however, loves to run.  I am the oldest of 6 kids, and he had us all run a 5k for the experience.  He said we never had to run again, but at least we would have done one.  So I ran on and off throughout junior high and high school - mostly to spend time with him, but nothing too serious.  He progressed to doing triathlons when I was in high school - and I thought he was just crazy.  Then when I went to University (in London, Ontario, Canada), I had a tough curriculum and was far from home in a big city, and I started running regularly just to help balance the stress.   One day my roommate recommended that I try swimming because, “It is a really good form of exercise” (in her words) - so I did.  And, I could barely make it 25yards.  So, it became my challenge.  My second year up there I bought a mountain bike which I rode back and forth to class on.  I kept swimming and met a girl at the pool who I asked for advice, and turned out to be the coach for the University Triathlon club.  She invited me to start swimming with them, and I ended up joining the club.  When my father found out he was SO excited.  He immediately signed me up for the Memphis in May triathlon, put me on one of his old bikes, and that was my start.  It took me almost 3 hours, I was dead last in my division, but I was so inspired and I just loved the whole atmosphere.  Plus I figured if I trained a little I might be able to do a little better.  (That was 1999, and I was 19).

You have had one amazing year, which included multiple national championship wins, toing the line in Kona, a few gnarly bike wrecks, a Slowtwitch interview, and even the coveted Tennessee Tri Buzz Female Age Grouper of the Year. What stands out the most to you from your 2017 season?

It was definitely an amazing year on many levels.  It’s hard to just name one, but here are my top 3:

I started guiding for visually impaired athletes, racing with Ivonne Mosquera-Schmidt in Sarasota, and Amy Dixon in Yokohama, Edmonton, and Rotterdam.  By far one of the most absolutely terrifying and rewarding things I have ever done.  Very incredible and inspiring.

Age Group National Championship wins for the Olympic and Sprint Distance Triathlons.  I would have safely bet anyone that I would NOT win either of those races going into them.  I was just hoping to podium in my age group.  I stayed in disbelief about both until the actual awards ceremony.  It was especially sweet because my dad was with me - first time he was with me at a national championship race since nationals were in Shreveport many, many years ago (where I came nowhere near the podium for my age group).

World Championship wins for the Standard Distance and Draft-Legal Sprint Distance Duathlons in Penticton.  Again, I had no expectations about winning.  Just to race in a world championship is an honor.  To make it on the podium? Incredible.  To win overall?  I have no words.

We had a few Tennesseans at this year’s Ironman World Championship and it happened to be your third time racing on the Big Island. Tell us what makes that race so special. How did you qualify? How would you compare that race to the other World and National championships that you have raced?

Ahhhhhhh Kona.  It is truly a race like no other.  The challenge of qualifying, the history, the pros, the hype, the location, and the course which tests limits like no other.

I was so very fortunate to qualify for this year.  I entered Ironman Louisville pretty much on a whim last year.  I had a number of friends that were doing it, and I had been training for the Long Course World Championships in OKC (which is kind of a middle distance between a half Ironman and a full).  I had basically put in the training I would have for a full, and there were a couple weeks in between, so I figured I’d go race with my friends and enjoy the last of my fitness for the year.  Well, let’s just say the race went way, WAY better than I could have dreamed, and I got a Kona slot.

I just have to say it again, Kona is a race like no other.  The atmosphere is just magical leading up to it.  I mean, to be there in Hawai’i.  To see so many hundreds of athletes there, training, from all over the world.  To swim on that beautiful swim course, to run down Ali’i Drive, to bike on the Queen K - it’s where the legends of triathlon were born, and what most of us as triathletes dream of.  For me it comes back to my father as well - from the time I started racing it was his dream to race there.  We were lucky enough to both race in Hawai’i in 2014 - which was incredible.  The course is tough, largely because you just never know what the island is going to hand you.  The swim can have crazy chop.  The winds on the Queen K are notorious, as is the relentless heat from above and from the lava fields.  The energy on the first part of the run along Ali’i drive helps get you going, but once you make the turn out on the Queen K it is back to you and the heat.  The energy lab has amazing aid stations - and the energy there definitely helps, but it can be a long journey back to Ali’i Drive from there.  However, once you make that last turn to the finish line, and the road is absolutely packed with people cheering, that is truly a finish like no other.  Incredible.

Many people have commented on how you are always smiling during races and I experienced that first hand as you flew past me at both the Paris Landing Sprint and Music City triathlons this year. Tell us more about KMF.

The history of KMF comes back, once again, to my father.  A few years ago we did the Long Course Duathlon National Championship in TX.  After the race we were swapping stories and he was telling me how there was a guy running in front of him with “KMF” on the back of his shirt.  Well it was driving him crazy because he didn’t know what it stood for, and he couldn’t catch the guy to ask him.  So when he crossed the finish line, he kept his eye on him and tracked him down to ask him.  Keep Moving Forward.  Well, we decided that was a fantastic motto for triathlons (as well as life).  There are so many times (especially in an Ironman) where the desire to slow down, just for a moment, or to stop - just for a little while, is almost overwhelming.  But, if you can resist, if you can just keep moving forward, you’ll make it.

For me, I just love to swim, bike and run.  I didn’t start out fast, and I truly never expected to become as successful as I have.  I like the personal challenge, I like the supportive environment, I like the opportunity to travel to places I would never otherwise go, and I like to race with my friends and family.  I have been sidelined by illness and injury.  I have friends who will never race again - but would give anything to be able to do so.  Even on a ‘bad’ day, I am so fortunate to be able to do something that I just love to do.  So - I smile.  I smile because it IS fun - and it should be.  I smile because I CAN swim, bike, and run.  I smile to see my friends and family on the course - as well as the other athletes testing their limits.  Sometimes I smile because of the ridiculousness of it all - when the conditions get crazy (wind, heat, chop, rain, etc) - sometimes you just have to smile because what else can you do?  And, I smile because it just makes me happy.

McKenzie, TN is not known as a triathlon hotspot but you seem to be thriving. Do you train mostly solo or with groups when training at home? Any good local rivalries?

It is pretty amazing how many triathletes we now have in my little hometown.  My dad, sister, and husband all race.  We put on a local Time Trial once a month during the summer and have had over 30 people there on occasion.

Most of my training is solo, except for cycling.  Over the past couple years I have gotten back into some bike racing, and drive about 45minutes to do a group ride once a week during the summer and ride with some faster cyclists.  That has done wonders for my bike handling, and my cycling (which is my absolute favorite).

And, oh, there are always some local rivalries . ..  lol.

What is your podium for favorite Tennessee races?

My favorite TN race would have to be Memphis in May.  It has gone through some ups and downs over the years, but it is back in it’s original location and growing again.  It’s probably because it was my first race, but it has lots of fun quirks.  Elvis sings the national anthem.  The finish is along this grassy levee by the swim, and it’s just such a cool finish.  And - Elvis runs in with the last finisher.  It’s just fun.  They have a live band, and BBQ (of course).  As a side note, the past few years my husband has been Elvis, so I (partially) joke that my pre-race nerves only involve whether he remembers all the words to the National Anthem…

Runners up would have to be Paris Landing Tri (because it’s so close to home), Music City (Nashville) and Chattanooga Waterfront - all are well organized and I know so many people racing it is just very fun.

What is your race plan for 2018?

So, my main focus for 2018 will be racing as a guide for Amy Dixon.  I am really, really excited to do that (and pretty nervous), but I am very passionate about guiding.

I am still hoping to do the National Championships for duathlon and triathlon, as well as the World Championship Multisport Festival again (for duathlon, aquathlon, and aquabike), and then finish up in Gold Coast for Triathlon Worlds (I’ll race with there with Amy and then do my own race afterwards).

I am also VERY excited to be on a new cycling team for 2018 - Marx Bensdorf Cycling out of Memphis, TN.  They have a really strong team, so I am excited to have some women to ride and race with.  Should be a fun year!

Anything else you want to share?

I guess the main things are - keep it fun.  It SHOULD be fun.  One of my friends likes to say, “It shouldn’t be good ‘work’.  It should be good ‘play’.  Because that is what it is”.

Smile.  Keep Moving Forward.  Test your limits.  Anything is possible.  Be gritty.  Dare to step outside your comfort zone.

And - just so you know, I have yet to go to a race expecting to win.  Sometimes I dare to HOPE to win.  Sometimes I feel I SHOULD be able to win.  But - I never expect it.  At worlds in Chicago a few year ago, as I was racking my bike my thoughts were, “Well, this is going to be a one and done.  I have no business here”.  And - I ended up having an amazing race.  If you don't dare to try - you will never know.  Even this year - I had a long season and after racing hard and spending most of the year recovering from one thing or another, by the time I did Ironman Florida I was exhausted.  I was registered to do the MiamiMan half and aqua bike, and I nearly bailed.  But, several people encouraged me to just go ahead and give it a go.  I figured worst case scenario, I’d make it through and just enjoy some good eating and warm weather in Miami.  Well, again it ended up being a much better race than I should have had.  Sometimes, you just have to go out on a limb.