By Sharael Feist
2003
Beginning in the early 1990s, Cathy Sassin became an icon in the sport of adventure racing by finishing in the top five in virtually every race she entered. Nearly two years removed from her last adventure race (The Discovery Channel World Championships in Switzerland), Sassin, 40, has stepped back and made the jump from adventure race competitor to commentator – something that she says is allowing her to live a less stressful life in a new setting. In the last two years, she’s done TV work for Global Extremes (OLN/ABC), Subaru Primal Quest (OLN) and the Hi-Tec Adventure Race Series (ESPN). It’s not the first time Sassin has been on camera, though, having played the part of “Panther” on American Gladiators in the early 1990s and competing in Survival of the Fittest on ESPN.
ASM: You recently moved from Los Angeles to Oregon. Why?
CS: “I got married last April, and my husband is from Bend, Oregon. We built a little house on the Deschutes River I licensed my Intrafitt fitness and nutrition consulting business in LA and moved to Oregon.” (Sassln also does fitness and nutrition consulting in Bend.)
ASM: Why did you stop competing?
CS: “I got severe hypothermia in Switzerland; I couldn’t walk for two days. When I returned home, I couldn’t get rid of the bronchial infection I had. My doctor finally found out I had a lung parasite, most likely picked up in one of the tropical countries I’ve raced in. It took six months to get over that. I also had a shoulder injury from the Raid Gaulolses In Ecuador In 1998 that had never fully healed. In that time, I was offered a couple of commentating and athlete representative jobs, and have been busy doing that ever since.”
ASM: Do you still train?
CS: “My training is better than ever. My stress level is down 90 percent. I can schedule two- to three-hour bike rides, paddles, skate skis and runs without the responsibility of an office to run. The lifestyle is great for adventure racing.”
ASM: Which do you like better, racing or commentating?
CS: “I loved to race, but after 10 years and more than 20 expedition-length races, the pain really has to be worth it. I’ve had every experience I could imagine in racing. I got everything I ever dreamed out of it, but it was time to move on in life. Now I really like the TV and organizational side of it. It allows me to see that, no matter what you think is going on behind the scenes as a racer, there’s always a good reason for it. You can’t imagine the amount of work and people completely dedicated to allowing you to have a successful race.”
ASM: What was your hardest race?
CS: “The Ecuador Raid Gaulolses In 1998. I got pulmonary edema, dislocated my shoulder, and broke my AC joint during the race, and couldn’t slow down for a second because we were running neck and neck with the Eco-Internet team for first.” (Sassin’s team, Spie, finished second.) That was also my favorite race, because the team camaraderie and emotional depths we went to were unforgettable.”
ASM: What are your plans for the future? Will you race again?
CS: “I’ve never been one to make long term plans; just take life as it comes and do the most with what it has to offer.”
ASM: What do you remember most about your American Gladiators experience?
CS: “I was scared to death, but as soon as I got up on the joust, there was no looking back. I knocked the contender off in two blows. Even though the show was cartoonish, where else do you get to play like that? The best thing I have left over from the experience is a really good Halloween costume.”