Two Oak Knoll alumnae and runners returned to campus to share their experiences and insights with the winter track & field team, offering current athletes a glimpse into the challenges, triumphs, and lessons learned from a lifetime of running.

While separated by decades and representing two very different Oak Knolls, Nora (Gibbons) Cary ’73 and Katie (McCafferty) Rathbun ’08 shared how commitment, resilience, and passion shape the journey both on and off the track.

Cary graduated at a time when Oak Knoll didn’t yet have an official girls’ track team — women’s athletics were far more limited, and opportunities like those available to today’s student-athletes were still emerging nationwide, following the passage of Title IX in 1972.

Rathbun, by contrast, competed when girls’ athletics were fully established at Oak Knoll, benefitting from decades of increased access and competitive infrastructure. She took that baton and ran with it, becoming one of the most accomplished runners in Oak Knoll’s history, holding county and school distance records.

Her standout accomplishments include a national title at the 2008 Nike Indoor Nationals, a Penn Relays championship, and a finalist finish at the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships. She went on to compete at the Division I level at Georgetown University, earning All-American and All-BIG EAST honors.

“It was a pleasure being back and speaking with the team. Oak Knoll is such a special place to me, and it really feels full circle being back here,” Rathbun said, pointing to her two children now attending the Lower School.

“I loved speaking with the team, and it brought me back to my time at Oak Knoll, reminiscing about being a student-athlete in the place where my love for running began,” she added. “I always felt valued and supported at Oak Knoll, and it provided me with such a solid foundation. Coming back to Oak Knoll feels like coming home.”

Cary’s story illustrates that athletic excellence is not confined to any one stage of life. In 2024, she earned the USA Track & Field Masters Long Distance Running and Track and Field Athlete of the Year award and set American age-group records across distances ranging from the 5K to the half-marathon.

“The athletic opportunities for the students at Oak Knoll have greatly changed in the 50 years since I graduated, but the Oak Knoll spirit is just as strong,” Cary said. “I hope their takeaway would be to enjoy the high school track team experience. The camaraderie with your teammates, your runs together, and the competitions are what is important and what you will remember.”

Together, Cary and Rathbun offered students a rare opportunity to see the sport through two distinct lenses: one shaped by the expanding opportunities for women in athletics, and another defined by longevity, reinvention, and joy in the process.

The conversation was facilitated by Clare Bukata ’04, Upper School Director of Student Support and winter track & field coach, who expressed excitement at the opportunity for alumnae to share their very different Oak Knoll experiences.

As Oak Knoll’s current runners listened, the message was clear: success is not solely measured by times or titles, but by the ability to grow, adapt, and carry lessons learned on the track into all aspects of life.

In welcoming Cary and Rathbun back to campus, Oak Knoll celebrated not only the history of women’s running, but the enduring spirit of leadership and perseverance that continues to define its alumnae — then, now, and for miles still ahead.