Going to the Limit . . . Strong and Steady

Georgia Gwinnett College Softball Head Coach Kat Ihlenburg calls upon her players to dig deep and push themselves to the limit – and giving one percent more – each spring in order for the Grizzlies to have success on the diamond.

Ihlenburg has already inspired the 2026 team by completing the Dopey Run Challenge last month at Disney World in Orlando. She completed the following grueling distance running challenges over the course of four days:

• 5-kilometer run
• 10-kilometer run
• Half marathon (13.1 miles)
• Full marathon (26.2 miles)

It’s a high-intensity, hard-core challenge for experienced runners covering 48 miles at the self-proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth.

“Every race builds toward the next one,” states Ihlenburg, who has also completed back-to-back marathons in January and February 2022.

But meeting the challenge of completing races over four consecutive days was definitely different. 

Ihlenburg began training on June 1, 2025, and then ran alongside GGC players last fall during the team’s physical conditioning workouts – a combination of sprints and 2- to 3-mile runs each week – around the Lawrenceville-based campus. 

The coach adds, “I’m proud that I didn’t miss a training session; never cheated the miles.”

Not surprisingly, Ihlenburg’s players were inspired and encouraged from their coach’s inspirational drive to succeed.

“What coach put herself through is inspiring us. She’s talking the talk, but also walking the walk,” says senior outfielder Enna Lackey, who completes weekly physical training exercises as a cadet in GGC’s Army ROTC battalion.

Sophomore outfielder Casey Beaver agreed, stating, “(Ihlenburg) is not just telling us to do something that she’s not willing to do. That’s the coach that we want to have behind us.”

And a Strong and Steady mantra has been developed by the players and coach for the Grizzlies’ upcoming 2026 season.

“‘Strong and Steady’ will be a constant saying for us this season,” states Ihlenburg, the only coach in GGC softball history. “You can’t think about what you’re doing at the present. What you’re doing now is preparing you for the future. In the bottom of the sixth inning, with a runner on second, a player can’t get preoccupied about getting a hit. Instead, that player has to think about seeing the ball and then hitting it. All the hitting practice and situational drills led up to that plate appearance. It becomes second-nature. When a player thinks about getting a hit, it becomes so much harder.”

That’s similar to all of the aspects that it takes to complete a race. A strong start leads to a confident middle and then enough stamina remains to cross the finish line. The exact time isn’t as important as completing the totality of the task, according to Ihlenburg.

“The runner’s (emotional) high is very real,” she says. “The jubilation from knowing that trusting in the process and executing a plan can result in the desired outcome. I ran many days and early in many cold mornings to prepare for the pleasant weather (at Disney World in January), join with other excited runners, and being surrounded by people who were cheering for people they didn’t know to finish the races.”

On the softball diamond, Ihlenburg has guided GGC to four NAIA World Series appearances, including a pair of semifinal finishes in the program’s 14-year history. She has mentored 21 All-Americans and will soon be celebrating her 500th victory in leading the Grizzlies. (She has a 492-183-2 record.)

“When people work together for a common goal, anything is possible,” notes Ihlenburg.

She should know – as a coach and distance runner.