Kate Baldwin
Hi, I’m Kate - a physiotherapist and sports scientist with a PhD focused on strength training in endurance athletes. The Distance Dr grew from my work at the intersection of research, clinical practice and lived experience in endurance sport. My doctoral research examined how concurrent strength and endurance training influences cycling and running economy in long-distance triathletes, and that work led to a series of peer-reviewed publications in journals including the International Journal of Sport Physiology and Performance, the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research and Strength and Conditioning Journal. I have also contributed chapters to major strength and conditioning texts and secured research funding to investigate footwear and physiology in female distance runners.
Over the past decade I have worked clinically and academically within endurance sport. I have co-founded performance clinics, led musculoskeletal and performance assessments, conducted lactate threshold, VO₂max and economy testing, and designed strength and rehabilitation programs for athletes ranging from recreational competitors to Olympians. I collaborate closely with sports physicians, surgeons and coaches, and I have spent many years lecturing at university level, supervising research students and coordinating units across physiotherapy and exercise science.
What continues to shape my perspective is the space between controlled research and real training environments. Laboratory findings are useful, but they are always bound by specific cohorts, protocols and assumptions. Athletes, on the other hand, train within careers, families, injuries, ambitions and time constraints. Bridging that gap requires interpretation and judgement rather than simple rule following. It requires being comfortable saying “it depends” and then explaining precisely what it depends on.
Distance Dr developed from that tension. It is a platform where I examine endurance training questions carefully, translate research without overstating it, and apply physiology with context. I am interested in durable performance and in helping athletes make decisions they can sustain for years rather than weeks.
I live in Busselton in Western Australia with my family and remain actively involved in the endurance community. I train, race and coach within the same ecosystem I research and teach in, which keeps the work grounded in reality. Much of my thinking happens on early morning rides along the coast or during strength sessions that sit between school runs and clinic hours. Sport, for me, is both professional and personal, and that overlap informs how I approach everything I do.
Nick Baldwin
I first started racing in 2007, with a lot of enthusiasm and little understanding of what I was getting into! I quickly found my passion in long distance triathlon and never looked back. I raced as an age-grouper for six years, which included multiple Ironman AG wins, a 70.3 AG World Championship and 2x AG podiums in Kona.
The love of competing spurred me on to race professionally, which I was fortunate to do from 2013 onwards. Over the years I got to race across the world and race in some incredible locations, getting a few podiums across Ironman and 70.3 events. My career highlight was without doubt winning the inaugural Ironman Philippines in 2018, achieving a goal I'd dreamed of since starting the sport.
My own racing experiences certainly contribute to my coaching philosophy, and along the way I’ve made a number of mistakes that I’m glad I can ensure my athletes avoid! I enjoy working with athletes across all levels, from newcomers to the sport, to competitive podium-chasers and everything in between. Now as a busy father, I’ve got a new appreciation for the importance of making limited training time truly count.
Outside of coaching another interest of mine is bike fitting, which I’ve done since 2018. During the course of my career I had the opportunity to work with some great minds in the sport who not only helped me personally, but also inspired an obsession with balancing aerodynamics, comfort and power on the bike.
