WATER, in its various sundry forms, has always attracted Katy Heidelberg Bourne. Or maybe it's the other way around. Katy was Bourne
to be wild and goodFrozen. Liquid. Chlorinated. Raging. It didn't seem to matter to Bourne. Neither did the era, which was more begrudging than encouraging for female athletes.
But Bourne didn't need Title IX. She had herself.
Coming out of high school a seven-sport athlete, she won two individual AIAW national championships while at the University of Wisconsin. Most impressive. Even more impressive when considering her titles came in downhill skiing in 1975 and 3-meter diving in 1977.
"I loved to play whatever was around," said Bourne, a physical education teacher at University Lab School. "I never thought about whether it was a girls' sport or a boys' sport. We had 14 kids in our family and we were always out doing things.
"The coaches just said, 'Hey, go try that.' I did get some financial help for college but no scholarship. I think I got a little money from the gymnastics, track, swimming and cheerleading budgets."
At Wisconsin, she skied, dove and ran track. She also was in the orchesis (modern dance) troupe.
"I know it's hard to think of me in a leotard," says the 42-year-old. "But it was not ballet. It was modern dance and I loved the creativity."
THESE days, Bourne runs, paddles and competes in triathlons. She also runs around a lot, organizing the active lives of her three children: daughters Kai (12) and Britta (10) and son Tri (8).
She and husband Peter -- the athletic director at the Academy of the Pacific -- will be competing in the Adventure Race later this month, an 18-hour endurance race on Oahu that entails kayaking, mountain biking and running. The event's location is a mystery; part of the race is getting to the start through orienteering clues given over the phone.
"For me, the training is more rewarding than the races," said Bourne. "You're giving yourself something to shoot for. It's the exhilaration of going for it. That's what I tell my kids and the kids I teach. I dig turning them on to a healthy lifestyle, enjoying the psychological highs that come with sport.
"For me, sports is just being back in nature. I run because I love being on the trails. I paddle because I love being on the ocean, with the dolphins and a gorgeous sunset. It all winds into a healthy lifestyle."
What surprises Bourne the most is that she's living away from snow. The Minnesota native was a ski instructor in Aspen when she came to Hawaii in 1980 to see a boyfriend who had begun his medical residency here.
THE relationship didn't work out, but the Honolulu Marathon was a month away. She stayed to compete and has been here ever since.
"I miss being up on the mountain peaks, I really miss the snow," she said. "I guess I've compensated by getting out on the ocean. But my kids know that, when I die, they are to put my ashes in a snowball and throw it off the highest mountain peak they can find."
Bourne has won countless races in numerous sports. Still, her favorite trophies are her children.
"Children are such gifts to us as parents," said Bourne. "I feel so lucky to have them, to share our lives together and to grow with them."
As a working mother, "I know how hard it is to do the 'Super Mom' thing," she said. "I talk to a lot of ladies about all the expectations of needing to do it all. The job, the kids and trying to make time for yourself."
The motto is: Make time, not excuses. Being healthy is a gift to herself and her family.
"I'm 42 but in my mind I'm still 17," she said. "I feel like Peter Pan."
Bourne's philosophy is timeless. Her inspiration never dated.
Cindy Luis is a Star-Bulletin sportswriter.
Her column appears weekly.