Contact: Kenneth Billings
STARKVILLE, Miss.--This Saturday [Oct. 13], Kelly M. White of Starkville faces one of the greatest challenges of her life.
On an island most consider paradise, she will push the limits of her physical and mental endurance in a race for which many amateur and professional tri-athletes train their entire lives--yet only dream about being competitors.
The part-time kinesiology instructor at Mississippi State University travels to Kona, Hawaii, to join 1,700 other amateur and professional athletes from around the world in the gold crown of triathlons, the Ford Iron Man World Championship. The 27-year-old Fort Wayne, Ind., native and her fellow competitors will face a punishing course over vast terrain: swimming 2.4 miles in the ocean, biking 112 miles over hills and mountains and concluding with a 26.2 mile marathon-length run.
"It's a pretty big accomplishment to get to the world championship," said White, who also is a registered dietician at Oktibbeha County Hospital. "I am honored to be able to compete in it. All of the pros will be there. In triathlons, it's the biggest you get."
White earned her spot in the world championship by finishing second in her age class in the Iron Man qualifier in Louisville, Ky., in late August. She conquered the grueling course with a personal best time of 10 hours and 59 minutes.
"I was amazed," said husband Micah White. "I knew she could do it if she had the right day and she did. Seeing her run that kind of race is one of the most amazing thrills I have ever had. "
Kelly White's story is more than a story of personal athletic accomplishment. It is the story of a family who stood beside her, encouraged her and pushed her to explore the limits of what she thought she could endure. Her journey to the world championships began five years ago when she met her future husband's parents.
White has been an athlete all her life. While growing up in Fort Wayne, she had parents who encouraged her love of athletics and the strong will and determination to succeed.
After graduating high school, she enrolled at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, eventually transferring to Mississippi State, where she earned a bachelor's degree in food, nutrition and dietetics and a master's in nutrition. She is currently studying to become a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics.
While in school, she met her future in-laws. Mike White is MSU's dean of students, while his wife Marcie is a retired Starkville High School teacher now serving as a part-time faculty member in foreign languages.
Kelly White said it's the support and encouragement of the White family that she credits with the bulk of her success and for drawing her into the world of triathlons. "There is no question how important they have been to me," she said. "They have all been behind me every step of the way, pushing me and not letting me quit. There is no way I would be doing this without them."
Mike and Marcie White are tri-athletes who first introduced her to marathon running. It was through her relationship with the couple that she met Micah, often as a competitor.
For more than six years, the four Whites have pushed each other to achieve their personal bests. Over this time, however, it was Kelly who really began to excel.
After twice earning a spot in the Boston Marathon, she finished as the third female overall in the 2006 Great Floridian iron-man distance triathlon. That achievement in Clermont caused her to begin seriously considering an attempt at "the big one," she said.
"She has as much mental toughness as anyone I have ever met," Mike White said. "She is willing to sacrifice and hurt and she has a lot of determination. There is no quit in her."
Respectfully, Kelly begs to differ. She admits there were times she wanted to quit, but didn't because of the Whites' push and encouragement to achieve this next level.
"Mike once told me 'Pain is temporary, pride is forever,'" she said.
When Kelly plunges into the water for the start of this weekend's race, her parents, husband and brother will be with her in Hawaii. She has no doubt, however, that Mike and Marcie will be beside her in spirit--stroke by stroke, pedal by pedal, step by step.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.