As the Badwater 135 approaches, we sat down with last year’s youngest finisher, and this year’s youngest entrant, Kaylee Frederick. A student at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Kaylee ran her first ultra at the age of 14 and has progressed up the ladder to races that exceed 100 miles. She is now vying for podiums, becoming a competitive runner as she continues to push her limits.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Growing up, how did you become a runner and progress into ultrarunning?
When I was seven, my mom did Couch to 5K, and I went to the track and ran with her. I realized pretty quick that I liked running, and I got into 5ks and 10ks. When I was 13, my elementary school music teacher, Ms. B, asked me to run a half marathon with her and I was like, “What is wrong with you? Absolutely not. You’re insane.” I genuinely thought only Olympic runners could run a half marathon. She was like, “No, we’ll just do it. We’ll have fun.” I finally agreed and ran my first half. It was fun, so I started looking for a marathon I could run, and it took a while to find one that didn’t have an age limit. Eventually, my running friend helped me find the Two Rivers Marathon and from there, it exploded.
You say “it exploded” so casually. Many people run marathons, but few progress farther. Who first opened your eyes to running ultras?
My friend Kristin Engle was the first ultramarathoner I knew. When I was 14, I crewed and paced her at her first 100-mile race, and that really showed me what [ultrarunning] was. Even though I didn’t run my first 100 until I was 16, I knew that was going to be my future.
Photo courtesy of Kaylee Fredericks
How did your mom contribute to your ultrarunning journey?
She’s crewed and paced me at pretty much all of my races, and she’s always been so supportive. At first, she held me back from some races because she knew that I wasn’t putting in enough training, but other than that, she offered her full-fledged support, even though we’ve gotten a lot of hate for it, but we know what we’re doing.
You’ve developed into a competitive ultrarunner as you’ve gotten older. How has your approach to the sport changed as you’ve matured?
I run because I love the sport. I never want to let competition keep me from loving this sport. But as I’m getting older and faster, I also want to get to that next level, where I’m competing against some of the better athletes. I just have to remember to really focus on listening to my body and running with my heart. I want to enjoy this sport for the rest of my life, so I don’t want to focus so much on just competing that I make myself hate it.
Looking at your longest endeavors, what did you learn from your 200-miler as well as Badwater?
The 200 was really, really slow. It was definitely eye-opening to not just be grinding for one day but for three or four. Then, Badwater was the most life-changing experience ever. It was so cool to see so many people there and be in the same race and the same field with people that made it feel like I could actually make it somewhere in this game.
Photo courtesy of Kaylee Frederick
How has being a much younger runner fit into your identity and experiences as an ultrarunner?
I’ve had a lot of trouble getting into races with age limits. Honestly, I’ve just used that to drive me to do better. I’ve also had tons of support. One of the coolest things is that a lot of teenagers reach out to me on Instagram and say, “I saw what you were doing and now I’m gonna go run my first ultra.” I think it’s really cool that I can help inspire other younger athletes because even though it’s a sport completely dominated by adults, you can do it.
How have the people in your local running club impacted your experiences with running?
Because I enjoyed running and going to CrossFit and things like that, I’ve always just got along with adults. Everyone in my running group treated me like one of them. When I came back from Badwater, some of my former teachers from elementary school came together with the Johnstown Running Club and decorated my whole house. They had balloons and banners up, so to have full-fledged support from the Johnstown Running Club and my local community — that’s awesome.
Are you running in college?
I ran cross country and track for a semester and a half, and then I really wasn’t enjoying it. It was stressing me out too much because it was interfering with my ultra training, and it just wasn’t worth it.
What are you studying?
Double major: biology and secondary education with a minor in chemistry.
Finishing up with some rapid-fire questions:
What’s your favorite weather to run in? 50 degrees, or low 60s, and cloudy
Favorite race you’ve done? Badwater 135
Favorite pre-race meal? Chicken parm or pizza
Favorite race fuel? Tailwind
Go-to song to run to? I don’t listen to music while I run. I don’t carry my phone or anything, so I just kind of go.