Sitting in the stands at the Sterling Invitational in late April, Jamie Rathbun saw an all-too-familiar sight on the face of her daughter, Kate, as she finished up her run in the girls 3,200-meter race.
 
“The last 300 meters, I could see it on her face,” Jamie recalled. “I was like, ‘What is wrong with her?’ She looked like she was going to start crying.”
 
Indeed, the tears were already beginning to stream down Kate’s cheeks. Only this time, there was plenty different about the emotions overcoming the Ellsworth freshman.
 
Rathbun was on the verge of winning her first high school race, something that less than two years earlier would never have seemed conceivable.
 
“When they blew the gun for my last lap, I’d never had that for me,” she said. “Being ahead. That last lap was pretty emotional and I couldn’t keep it in.”
 
The journey to that victory has been a somewhat arduous one for Rathbun, this week’s CapFed® TrueBlue® Student of the Week. Born without the tarsals and metatarsals on her left foot, Rathbun has persevered through more painful moments than triumphant ones in her running career and the victory at Sterling simply demanded a release of every emotion imaginable.
 
“When she stepped off the track after she won in Sterling, she was in tears and some of our kids were like, ‘Why are you crying? You won!’” Ellsworth track coach Nick Rodriguez said. “But they weren’t tears of sadness, but tears of joy. It was just so emotional to see. She probably never thought she’d have that in her lifetime.”
 

 
Indeed, running in races, let alone winning them, might have seemed improbable for Rathbun.
 
When she was born, Rathbun’s left leg had a fully functioning ankle and the structure of a heel and heel pad. But the bones that make up the foot – the tarsals and metatarsals – were non-existent. It’s a congenital condition that is so rare, it doesn’t have a medical name assigned to it.
 
And while her disability never stopped Rathburn from being active throughout her life, that activity hasn’t come without complications and hardships.
 
“Almost every physician we’ve been to has said, ‘I’ve never really seen anything like this before,’” Jamie Rathbun said. “That’s been an interesting piece of 15 years of making prosthetics for her. Often times, it’s been trial and error on their part as well and some just couldn’t.
 
“So I’ve done a lot of my own research, been our own advocate. If they weren’t willing to help keep my kid active, we’ve moved on and found somebody willing to find those things to allow her to do those things she wants to do.”
 
Rathbun does a little bit of everything. Growing up on her family’s farm, she’s couldn’t help but be outside helping out on whatever needed to be done. She rides horses, drives a tractor and helps raise with the cattle her family owns.
 
“She’s not somebody to sit and not do things,” Jamie said. “Being active is definitely an important piece of her life. We spend a lot of time outside and when you see your parents working outside and being active, you don’t have that sit-around mentality. It’s just always been modeled for you. We’re outside and we do things.”
 
“I didn’t really hold me back any at home,” Kate said. “Living on a farm, being outside I run around without my shoes on all the time and it never bothered me. My mindset is this is who I am and I’ll be me.”
 
Eventually with some encouragement from her parents, Rathbun took up different athletic endeavors. She dabbled in gymnastics briefly when she was younger and then volleyball. But in junior high, she followed in the footsteps of Jamie and took up running, going out for track as a seventh grader and cross country as an eighth grader.
 
And that’s when things got tough. The prosthetic Rathbun wore at her meets was her every-day one made for walking and wearing shoes.
 
The prosthetic wasn’t built for the wear and tear of track and cross country meets and more times than not, it would break down during her races, not allowing her to finish. Hence the tears of old.
 
“It was a struggle to watch her with her regular prosthetic that she had,” Rodriguez said. “It was just so disappointing those times it malfunctioned and for her not to be able to finish the races because her leg basically broke.”
 

 
A solution to that problem, however, was out there.
 
During Rathbun’s youth, she and her family spent five summers going to the Ozarks in Missouri to Camp No Limits, a setting for children with limb loss or differences and their families to empower them to develop a healthy, happy and independent lifestyle.
 
While at those camps, the Rathbuns learned about another non-profit organization, Amputee Blade Runners, which was founded in 2011. The organization further helps those with limb loss enjoy an active lifestyle by providing a running prosthesis, the cost of which are not covered by health insurance companies.
 
When the Rathbuns first learned of ABR, Kate hadn’t yet embarked on her running career. But once she did and began experiencing the difficulties of her every-day prosthesis breaking down, they reached out to see if Kate would be a recipient.
 
After going through an application process that included letters of recommendation from Rodriguez and others, Rathbun was chosen to receive a running blade in early 2022. That February, the Rathbuns traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to get fitted for both a running and walking blade from ABR.
 
The blades are custom-made, casting Kate’s leg and then making a mold of it to fit a fiberglass socket that her leg slides into. The blade is then attached to the socket, with the mounting also custom-fit for her height and weight.
 
Her running blade is slightly longer than her walking blade, allowing for the downforce Kate puts on it while running. It’s also nearly four pounds lighter than her previous prosthesis.
 
During the testing process, ABR sent Kate out for a test run and Jamie joined her. Immediately, both noticed a huge difference.
 
“She and I would run together and she would be tired and hurting and really couldn’t keep up with me,” Jamie said of their previous runs together. “I would jog slower just to stay together. When we were in Nashville, she took off and left me in the dust.”
 
Whatever skepticism Kate had about the new prosthesis immediately vanished.
 
“At first, I was a little hesitant, like, ‘What is it going to give me that I don’t already have?’” Kate said. “I’d never run in one before or experienced it. Now that I have it, it’s a whole new world. It’s really comfortable and when I run, it really has changed the way I run.”
 
The process took a week as opposed to the near three-month wait Kate had had for previous prosthetics. She had it in time for her eighth-grade track season and has now had her blades for nearly 15 months.
 
From a physical standpoint, the difference was obvious. Her times drastically improved to where she now has a career best of 14:35.78 in the 3,200 and 6:35.62 in the 1,600, both coming on that breakthrough day in Sterling.
 
But what it’s done mentally has been even bigger.
 
“I feel like I’m way more confident knowing my prosthetic isn’t going to break and I’ll be able to finish my races,” Kate said. “I think that plays a big part in my running. I’m actually competing now, it’s not just going out and doing it to say I’m out for track. Now I’m up there with the other girls and that just feels amazing.
 
“It really has been a game-changer.”
 
Jamie agreed.
 
“For anybody, it gives you that confidence boost,” she said. “If you’re that person who’s coming in last almost every single time, it’s tough. You’re out there and doing it and having fun with teammates, but we’re all just a little bit happier when we really feel like we are competing. Now she’s not just the kid at the end of the race that everybody’s clapping for and also clapping even more because she’s running with a prosthetic on. She’s just mentally in such a better place knowing she can compete.”
 
In addition to running track and cross country, Rathbun is heavily involved in a variety of school activities. She’s a member of Ellsworth’s student council, participates in the Future Farmers of America club, competed in Scholars Bowl, plays the French horn and trumpet in band and has performed in school musicals.
 
Student Council sponsor Kendra Ploutz also was Rathbun’s fourth-grade teacher in Ellsworth and said she’s always been one to not only be involved but get others involved as well.
 
“She’s a remarkable young woman,” Ploutz said. “Kate strives to be involved in all areas of school, making it more inclusive for everyone. Often times, freshmen are more hesitant to actively lead in Student Council, but this is not the case with Kate. She is a willing participant who jumps into opportunities full steam ahead.  
 
“She has a knack for making others feel at ease and is willing to get out of her comfort zone if it means helping others. StuCo students put on a leadership camp every spring for elementary-aged students and Kate was part of the team that led students through activities, games, and lessons. The mentoring she helped provide is instrumental to nurturing young leaders.”
 
That personality has played out on a bigger stage than Ellsworth. In March, Rathbun attended the Raymond James Annual Institutional Investors Conference – the company a corporate sponsor for Amputee Blade Runners. In addition to working the ABR booth at the conference in Orlando, Fla., Rathbun got up on stage and gave a testimonial to the crowd about what impact ABR has had on her life and the lives of others.
 
The crowd size outnumbered the population of Ellsworth.
 
“I’m not sure I could have done that at 15,” Jamie joked. “I’m just in awe, reflecting back on the opportunities she’s gained with the running leg. What that has given her to be able to do, not just in athletic settings, but in her confidence as well. Anytime you grow your confidence in one area of life, it boosts you all the way around. You feel comfortable doing and trying other things.”
 
Rathbun said she fully enjoyed the experience, meeting others who have been helped by ABR.
 
“It was a lot of fun to get to know their stories,” she said. “It was so different than what I’ve been through. I love being able to give back to (ABR) because they’ve done so much for me. Anything to help them so they can make more legs for people like me, that’s amazing.”
 

 
The message she gives just by running is a strong one, Rodriguez said.
 
“I think she definitely inspires her current teammates and I’ve had opposing coaches tell me how inspiring it is to watch her run,” he said. “Maybe kids in their program don’t appreciate things being able-bodied runners and then to see what she’s accomplishing with a disability hits them. She’s so positive all the time and has just a great outlook on things every day.”
 
Kate’s message is a simple one, she says.
 
“I guess honestly, just go for it and perform to your best,” she said. “You’re going to have people supporting you and you’re going to have people against you. But those supporters are always there and you never know what you can or can’t do unless you try.”