Chris Kogut: setting goals and meeting them

By Phyl Newbeck

When Christine Kogut puts her mind to something, she does it. When she was ten years old she announced she wanted to become an actuary and thirty years later she decided she wanted to be an athlete. Last month, at 44 years of age, the Charlotte actuary ran her fourth Boston Marathon.  On Sunday, she and her husband finished in the top ten percent of the two-person relay teams at the Vermont City Marathon.

Prior to 2010, Kogut had never run more than ten miles. She had done a few sprint triathlons but at the age of 40 she decided it was time to try the Iron Man distance. “I signed up for Lake Placid in July 2011,” she said “and I’d never even run a half marathon.” To prepare, Kogut ran the Disney Marathon. “I had a great result and time and that led to a great Lake Placid,” she said. Although Kogut had initially decided the Ironman race would be a one-time thing, when she crossed the finish line she told a friend it had been her best day ever. Now, she does at least one Ironman triathlon each year in addition to marathons. “I love triathlons,” she said “but it’s a logistical nightmare to get all your equipment to the start line. Marathons are best because I just show up with my running stuff.”

Despite a stiff headwind and constant rain, Kogut ran this year’s Boston Marathon in 3:35 which was two minutes off her personal best. “When they called my wave, the skies were just gray and overcast but less than a minute before the start it started raining and it never really stopped,” she said. “A couple of spots got pretty windy.” Kogut tried not to let the weather affect her. “Conditions were not ideal,” she said, “but you can’t control anything except your attitude”

Kogut normally runs outside year round, getting in training runs in the morning before work.  She puts her “pain threshold” at 15 degrees, so the cold this winter put a damper on her outdoor training. Kogut noted that it’s hard to run 20+ miles on a treadmill and she thinks that’s why she fell off her pace in the last four miles. “I don’t think I had enough training in my legs,” she said.

Not many ten year olds decide to be actuaries, but this is the profession Kogut has practiced since she graduated from college. She works for a global firm but is based in South Burlington where she and her team of seven local and some remote employees form a consulting group with a variety of clients. Since 2005, Kogut and her husband (and now two children) have called Charlotte home after choosing the town because of the school system and natural beauty. She gives back to her community by coaching girls’ lacrosse for the Charlotte Recreation Department.

Kogut is pleased with how her athletic career has taken off. “I love the training, being fit, being healthy and being outdoors,” she said. “Racing allows me to set targets and have something to shoot for. My work is very demanding and I’m often put in situations outside my comfort zone. Whenever I’m in a difficult position, I convince myself that I can do anything I want to if I put my mind to it.”