Elizabethtown College first-year Kate Bendall is unlike any other Blue Jay.

She is running with her heart on the opposite side of her body.  

She has a medical condition called Dextrocardia that caused her lung to not grow properly on the right side of her body. That lung is significantly smaller because that space is replaced by her heart. 

Competing at such a high level comes with consequences. Bendall said she will pass out after races, in practice or on an average day training. Any run over half a mile is a risk. The longer the distance, the more that risk increases.

Growing up, Bendall said her doctors requested that she not play sports. But, Bendall didn’t  listen.

“Whatever my body can give, I’ll do,” Bendall said.

She started track when she was a freshman in high school. She continued to pursue the sport at the College because she did not want to give up.

“I wasn’t supposed to do it, [so] why should I stop now?” Bendall said.

In this past 2023-2024 winter track season, Bendall has made Etown’s  top 10 in history for all three of her events. She is ranked fourth in triple jump, third in the long jump and second in hurdles.

This would not have been possible without the help of first-year thrower Joey Walko.

After each event, Walko must catch Bendall in his arms.  Bendall said she cannot hear once she stops running, and her body will go numb before ultimately passing out.

“Sometimes, I have to carry her to her next event, and I always make sure to give her water,” Walko said. “Kate amazes me that she can achieve what she does. Her mental aspect and belief in her own ability is what puts her at a different level.”

The runner and thrower have been friends since long before the track season.

“There is a different type of connection with someone when you are a part of the same team,” Walko said. “It’s more of a family aspect. Kate and I have definitely gotten a lot closer because of this sport.”

The bond between Bendall and Walko is crucial to her athletic performance. “I would do anything to keep my teammates safe,” Walko said. “Kate and I have a trustworthy relationship and she knows I won’t let her not be okay.”

It’s Walko and her other teammates that Bendall said gives her the strength to compete. She has come to trust them entirely.

“Being around people who know what to do and understand how to take care of me is what gets me through my races,” Bendall said.

Bendall has made numerous friendships on the team. First-year runners Kathrine Hartman and Alexandra Meyerhoff are both aware of Bendall’s condition and know what to do when she passes out.

“I would not race if I did not have the support of my team,” Bendall said.

“Kate pushes me harder as an athlete,” Hartman said. “I appreciate her as a person and what she does never goes unrecognized.”

“Kate always pushes me to do my best and from understanding how she operates, we have grown a stronger connection outside of the running world,” Meyerhoff said. “She is one of my best friends at Etown.”

The first-year with her heart on the opposite side of her body and a compacted lung is on track to break records at Etown this upcoming spring season.

“I do not want people to pity me because I passed out,” Bendall said. “I want you to be proud of me that I got up.”