dysmenorrhea

We'll go deeper into everything, but let's just start with this f- first one.

True or false, period pain is just part of being a woman

womanI'm gonna say false.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

I'm just like, good Lord.

So growing up, I remember the conversation really being around managing symptoms, right? Whether it was headaches, PMS, period pain, low back pain, acne, just figuring out how to manage your symptoms, right? And from the get-go, I was somebody who never had a regular cycle.

Okay.

She's been invested in women's health since her freshman year at NC State and has found a true passion for advocacy and helping and teaching women that aren't as educated on their bodies and their health.

Kate was a Lane 9 ambassador with our inaugural program last fall in 2025, and she talks about why she joined us for that program, as well as how she has navigated fueling, strength training, competing, and training at NC State with Coach Lori Hennis, where they've won multiple national titles, her mentors in the sport, including Caitlin Toohey and teammate Angelina Napoleon, and more, and how she navigated intense period pain once she got to college, which inspired her to learn more about women's period health overall.

She was an intern with Katie Rainsberger over the summer who is studying low energy availability and reds in female athletes and is on a mission to make sure her and her teammates are fueling adequately for their training and racing.

She also talks to us about why she adopted a dog two years ago, even though, as she noted, some might feel like that's a really tough thing to do as a collegiate athlete.