Kate Van Buskirk

Kate Van Buskirk (b. 1987) is an internationally accomplished amateur cross-country runner, from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Her young career has seen mostly 800 m and 1500 m runs, but she currently considers 3000 m runs, especially at indoor events.

Running history
In 2003, Van Buskirk set the record for junior girls ROPSSAA 800 m, at 2:17.58. She followed this up in 2004, by setting the record in the senior girls ROPSSAA 800 m category, at 2:11.47, and in the 1500 m category, at 4:38.53. Both records still stand.

That year, she won the 2004 Runners' Choice London Distance Festival for the 800 m, but only placed third in the 800 m juniors at the Hamilton Spectator Indoor Games.

Van Buskirk won the title of "Athlete of the Year" from the City of Brampton in 2004. She also won the 2004 Ken Giles Award for Brampton's Amateur Athlete of the Year, from The Brampton Guardian. She also won her high school's female athlete of the year award in the 2004-2005 school year. These awards were not only for her cross country and track running, but also volleyball.

In March 2005, Van Buskirk went to the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, held in Le Mans, France. She finished in the top half, at 57th place, despite hot and humid conditions. This was the second highest Canadian finish at the event.

Van Buskirk graduated from Turner Fenton Secondary School in June 2005 with honours at the Academic level of study, but returned for a fifth year.

In 2005, Van Buskirk won her category of the McQuaid Invitational, a race for high school athletes, held in Rochester, New York. At the event Van Buskirk set a meet record. Later, Van Buskirk won the Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Association (OFSAA) championship for her category. Next Van Buskirk won the Ontario Track and Field Association (OTFA) junior championship.

In December 2005, Van Buskirk won the Canadian junior championship, held in Vancouver, British Columbia. She ran the 5000-metre distance in 16:38, three seconds faster than Anita Campbell of Abbotsford, British Columbia, a runner at Washington State University.

In May 2005, Van Buskirk set the current ROPSSAA record for girls open steeplechase, at 5:12.00.

At the 2006 Pan-Am junior track and field championships, Kate Van Buskirk finished fifth in the 800 m.

The Canadian junior title qualified her for the NACAC Cross Country Championships (North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association) in Florida, to be held March 2006. Van Buskirk told The Brampton Guardian "I really don't know what to expect (at NACAC) because I've never been there." By winning the title, Athletics Canada chose her for the 2006 World Cross Country Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, to be held in April. Van Buskirk told the Guardian that she'd "like to be top 30 and the top Canadian" at the Worlds.

As of 2006, Van Buskirk trained 12 to 16 km daily, with long runs of 18 km. She trains at the Mississauga Track Club, under her coach/father Jim Van Buskirk, as well as training with the Toronto Olympic Club and coach Eddie Raposo.

Kate is currently attending Duke University in North Carolina, where she sings Alto II for the Duke Chorale and Chamber Choir under the direction of Rodney Wynkoop.

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