Podcasts Sports Running Ali on the Run Show 743. Kate Gunderson, Flight Test Engineer

743. Kate Gunderson, Flight Test Engineer

Published: Aug. 27, 2024, 9 a.m.

"I wanted to change the world just like she had."

Kate Gunderson \u2014 best known online as "The Plane Kate" \u2014 is living a real-life\xa0Top Gun...kind of. (She'll explain!) Kate is a flight test engineer (a literal woman in STEM!), a former NASA engineer, and a nine-time marathoner with a 3:18 personal best. In this conversation, Kate explains what her role entails, what it's like being in flight test school, and how she handles being a woman in a very male-dominated industry (she's the only woman in her program!). She offers advice on improving your confidence, on speaking up when you're "the only," and on chasing your biggest dreams. Plus, all about her first flight, what it took to run a massive personal best, and whether or not she still dreams of heading into space someday.

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What you\u2019ll get on this episode:

  • Top Gun vs. real life, and what Kate\u2019s first flight was like (2:30)
  • On being a woman in a male-dominated industry (7:25)
  • When Kate knew she wanted to pursue a career in space (10:10)
  • How Kate made her dreams come true (14:50)
  • On life in test pilot school (30:15)
  • How Kate met her soon-to-be husband (46:15)
  • What\u2019s the dream now? (52:30)
  • How \u2014 and why \u2014 Kate became a runner (58:05)
  • What it took to run a 3:18 marathon (1:01:20)
  • On doing the right thing, even when it\u2019s hard (1:05:55)
  • Kate\u2019s advice for beating imposter syndrome (1:10:30)

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