Kat Baker of Canberra, Australia had many observers wondering, 'Who was that girl in the purple outfit at the Wildflower long course Saturday?' The 26-year-old came out of the swim 28 seconds behind Tenille Hoogland, then posted the race-fastest 2:32:22 bike split. Baker came to the transition with a 4:40 lead on heavy favorite Heather Jackson and held off the super runner until Mile 4 of the final leg. While Baker was obviously struggling on her way to a 1:36:44 run, she pushed hard enough to hold off excellent runner Elizabeth Lyles by 8 minutes and finish in 2nd place, 6:41 behind course record holder Jackson.

The reason few at the race knew much about Baker was not that she didn’t have some excellent races in her resume. She took up the sport in 2005 and that same year, in just her second triathlon, won the ITU World Championship Female 18-19 age group title. She defended that World age group title again in 2006, finishing 1st in 2:32:15, 7 minutes ahead of her closest age group rival and 15 minutes behind overall age group titlist Chrissie Wellington.

In 2008, her first full season as a pro, she was 3rd at Memphis in May, 2nd at the Pacific Crest half Ironman, 5th at the Boulder half Ironman, won the Shepparton half Ironman and took 3rd at her Ironman debut at Western Australia in a time of 9:37:24, highlighted by a 4:57:33 bike split that was second only to women’s winner Gina Ferguson’s 4:56:42.

In 2009, she won the World’s Toughest Triathlon in Auburn California by 25 minutes and took 8th at the Kansas 70.3. Then, as a result of continuous injuries, came a 3 year hiatus triggered by a lengthy and unremitting series of injuries that frustrated a long series of physiotherapists, coaches and doctors -- and had Baker reluctantly contemplating retirement. From the time she started triathlon, she suffered a broken arm at a Japanese race, had multiple stress fractures in her shins, struggled with a cramp inducing issues with both hips, and a perplexing slipped vertebra in her back which triggered misfiring glute muscles which led to maddening, incessant cramping. Which led to countless DNFs.

But when all seemed to be going well, in September 2011 she got a torn Obdurator externus, a muscle centered in the pelvis, and had to take many more months off running while she diligently maintained fitness swimming and biking on a trainer.

Thanks to the work of physios Brad Hisko and Roz Penfold, Baker finally found a post-travel and pre-race stretching formula which allowed her to finish races and once again seek to pursue her immense potential. In October 2012, running just 20 minutes at a workout, she finished 6th at the Mandurah 70.3, and 3rd at both the Port Macquarie and Shepparton 70.3s.

Just as she was poised to start the new season with a bang, she suffered a stress reaction in her shins in January and had to lay off running once again. With diligent recovery, she came to Wildflower with high hopes and a very modest base of runs.

Like Sisyphus, Kat Baker keeps rolling that rock back up the hill no matter how many times she’s had to start over.

Slowtwitch: Kat, tell us a little about yourself.

Kat Baker: Canberra is my home base at the moment. I’m living with my mum to save a little money. I grew up swimming and took up triathlon at age 18 while going to university– the first of many institutions where I have continued my education - to study exercise physiology.

ST: Tell us about your parents and siblings.

Kat: My dad was in the military his entire life -- in Special Forces actually. So he is pretty fit with that. Mum grew up playing lacrosse. She just keeps herself healthy now. I have two brothers. My youngest brother Matt is 18. He can swim and run and I'm trying to get him into triathlon, but he is not interested. Michael is a little older and is the academic of the family and he is working now in Melbourne.

ST: In school did you do other sports?

Kat: I grew up swimming in the pool. But I've never been a great open water swimmer. But it is coming along.

ST: I understand that some of your bike strength has rubbed off from your boyfriend.

Kat: We lived together for three years in Mooloolaba. He used to do triathlon, but now he is a cyclist and he has helped me a lot with the bike.

ST: That shows after your fine bike split at Wildflower.

Kat: Yes it has rubbed off on me. He’s taught me everything I know

ST: Have you done any cycling racing?

Kat: I have. Because I've had a lot of injuries. I had a back problem which was causing my legs to cramp. By the time I got on the bike, I would cramp and I’d have to pull out and it was really quite difficult. So because I liked the bike, I just did a lot of riding.

ST: What was your best result?

Kat: I got 3rd at the Australian Under 23 time trial championships in ’08. So that was good. I got my professional license and in only the first 2 months I broke my arm in 2 spots so I took time off and just sat on the wind trainer. After doing some testing with the Australian Institute of Sport, I was selected for a talent ID cycling program. Unfortunately they had a different idea of what kind of cyclist I was going to be and put me into the track program. After sitting on the rollers the entire meet because I was bored from doing 3 minute long races, I realized I really was a distance athlete and made the switch back to triathlon.

ST: How long have you been a professional triathlete.

Kat: Since 2007. But it’s been on and off because of this back problem.

ST: Please elaborate.

Kat: It doesn’t have a particular name. But the key problem was a slipped vertebra in my back and it irritated some nerves and it caused me to cramp up. Every time I got out of an open water swim it would stir it up and when I’d get on to the bike, my legs would cramp and I had to pull out. It was horrible. It didn’t happen every race, but it started happening more and more. The first time it happened was in 2006. It happened a bit in 2007 and 2008 and a bit more in 2009. Then I pretty much had to quit.

ST: What was your best race in this period?

Kat: I got 3rd at Ironman Western Australia in Perth in 2008. I didn’t cramp and I had a good race. I was pretty young then – I was 21. So that was a good debut for me. Then I decided I liked Ironman. I kept training for it and I did another Ironman. I cramped there, too, but I didn’t have to pull out and was able to finish. That was in ’09. I think I was 7th. I was disappointed, because I should have done a lot better. Then I tried to go back to Busselton that year. I was pretty fit – but I cramped.

ST: What did you do about this?

Kat: Everything. What haven’t I done? I had hip surgery. They thought that was it. I had torn labrums in both hips. They fixed that up. But that actually made the cramping worse. That was at the end of 2009. Then I had a muscle biopsy. They thought I had some missing enzymes or something. But they were on the wrong track. Didn’t have that. They thought I had exoiliac artery compression. It’s a main artery. It was getting compressed every time I jumped on the bike. The doctor I saw said, ‘You’ve definitely got that.’ Then I booked for surgery in Melbourne. I flew to Melbourne and met the surgeon. He wanted me to bring the cramping on. I was running and it was really bad because it hurt so bad. But he said, ‘Nope. It's not that.’ So that was heartbreaking, devastating. That was in 2010.

In 2011 I didn’t race at all. I quit.

ST: What were you doing then?

Kat: I went back to school. I have been studying exercise physiology for years and I've been to a few schools. Latest is University of Canberra.

ST: Still, you continued to make some progress?

Kat: Well at the start of 2013, I found a new physio, Roz Penfold. I was having an MRI again. Back in 2008, the doctor had seen this slight slippage in my spinal disk at T-12.

ST: What could Roz Penfold do about it?

Because it always happens where I travel a long way to the races, Roz found out all I need to do is to do some simple stretches to pull that slippage back out. That is it. That's what I've done this year. I hadn’t finished a race in so long – but I did here at Wildflower.

ST: What was the last race you finished before this?

Kat: I did a couple late last year because I had started to work it out for myself what I needed to do. Before that, I didn’t know what the problem was. In my first few races back in Australia, I got 6th at Mandurah 70.3 behind Liz Blatchford and Melissa Hauschildt and then two 3rd place finishes – at Port Macquarie 70.3 and Shepparton 70.3. I smashed the bike once again and I had an 11 and a half minute lead off the bike and I still got run down. The run will come.

ST: You’ve been racing triathlon for 8 years but you haven’t put many miles on your body’s odometer. There’s a lot more in your tank.

Kat: Yeah. I've been around for a while. I realized I've been there but I just haven't been able to finish. But because of the injuries and recoveries, I never caught anyone’s attention.

ST: You continue to take all the preventive measures?

Kat: Yes. Before Wildflower I did my stretches and had no sign of the cramping. I jumped on the bike and it went very well.

ST: You started well.

Kat: I was cold at the start because the water was too warm and they didn’t allow the pros to have wetsuits. The water was warm, but the air was freezing. The start was really bad, so I missed the front girls and I was trying to catch up the whole time. I came close – about 30 seconds. I thought I caught all of them, but last girl I caught got dropped from the group. So I kept chasing.

ST: How was the bike?

Kat: I didn't know how many people were in front of me. It turns out there were three. But I didn’t know that at the time. So I was never sure the entire ride actually.

ST: How many people in the field did you know?

Kat: I met Kristin Peterson in Boulder. She is an awesome swimmer and was the last competitor that I caught.

ST: You caught her before nasty Grade at Mile 40?

Kat: It was before that – not too far into the bike.

ST: You had a lead of 4:40 off the bike?

Kat: If it was 5 minutes on the bike I was super happy. I like the course. It was hard, which is good.

ST: You like the hills?

Kat: To be honest I prefer a flat course. But I’m OK at the hills.

ST: What were you feeling when you were in the lead?

Kat: I honestly did not know I had the lead. So many times in races, I think I am in the lead because I hadn’t seen anybody for a while. But right at the end I’ll see someone. It’s kind of hard. Sometimes people will tell you where you stand. But no one was telling me. Usually we have a motorbike for the lead woman. But there was no one there. So I wasn't sure.

ST: You didn’t know but you had a 4 minute 40- seconds lead on Heather Jackson?

Kat: That's the first I heard of it the gap. I knew I had the lead when I saw my homestay Robin. She was the lead woman mountain biker for the women runners. I told her the day before, if I am having a good race hopefully I will see you. When I saw her, I thought ‘Awesome!’ I must have the lead!’

ST: That was the first time you realized?

Kat: Yeah it was.

ST: When you started running at Wildflower how did you feel? Were you a little wary for cramps?

Kat: I felt good. When I get past 5 minutes on the bike, I am super happy to be there. Getting on to the run is foreign to me lately. .

ST: Were you on the lookout for Heather Jackson?

Kat: Yeah I knew Heather was an awesome runner. [Who was coming off a 1:17 split at Oceanside 70.3] I was quite aware of that. So I was expecting her to come past. She caught me at Mile 4 as expected. I thought haven’t done too bad. 4 miles is a good time to stay leading for me at this time.

ST: Did you exchange any words?

Kat: I said, ‘Good job!’ She said something nice to me. To be honest I didn’t expect to stay in 2nd because my run is definitely my weakness and I've been injured recently. I haven’t had much of a base. So I was really happy with my finish.

ST: With all your previous and lingering injuries, were you apprehensive about the tough hills at Wildflower?

Kat: It’s great. I always prefer a tough course – a hard ride and a hard run.

ST: You earned some cash, which is always good when getting the career going again?

Kat: It means I can save it longer.

ST: What does this finish mean to you?

Kat: It means my cramping is gone. Trying to come back and not being able to finish is just so discouraging

ST: If you keep doing the right things, you’ll be OK.

Kat: I’d be stupid not to – because I do keep coming back. I just can’t get triathlon out of my blood.

ST: I guess sponsors are hard to come by when you’ve been out so long. But this finish is a nice calling card.

Kat: Getting some sponsors is the name of the game now, for sure. I'm not expecting anyone to help me out when I'm not even finishing races. But this means I am on the right track finally.

ST: How did you feel running that very steep last downhill on the run?

Kat: Oh that was awful. I was lucky there were no sprint finishes or anything because that would have been brutal. I would have done a face plant.

ST: I heard you do not have a coach. Do they get disappointed when you have so many injuries?

Kat: I've had a few coaches through the years. The first one was Ben Gathercole. He was awesome. He taught me everything I knew. That was from 2005 to about 2009. But then I started coming overseas to the U.S. So that was a bit hard. Then I started working with my partner, my boyfriend, Mick Cupitt.

ST: Cupitt? What do you do on Valentine’s Day?

Kat: It's NOT CU-PID! CHUCKLES. But yeah it's close. He’s my coach because he's got so much experience. He's had a lot of coaches himself and he’s done triathlon for a long time. So we work well as a team. The thing is you know your body better than anyone else.

ST: What happens with injuries?

Kat: And that's the thing I find with coaches. Especially with the run. They push a bit hard and I get injured. I've had injuries with all the coaches. I had a stress fracture when I started in 2005. And then I recently had a stress reaction in the other leg in ’05. Then the next one was 2009 or 2010, I got another coach and I tore a muscle in my hip and that took forever to heal. That is still bothering me actually. Then just recently I had another stress reaction in my shin. January it started. So I’ve only just got over that.

ST: What led you to come to the US?

Kat: I did Wildflower in 2008. I stayed in a tent and so I loved it then and I always wanted to come back.

ST: Will you stay in the States for a while?

ST: Yes. But first I will go to Europe for a couple of races there. I’ve been training in Reno. Mainly by myself. Actually I don't mind training by myself. When Mick is here, I’ll train with him. But just by myself at the moment. And when I am in Europe I won’t have a base there. I will just go to races. But then I’ll return to Boulder, Colorado where I have a family I will stay with.