September 27, 2015
AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE: CHICAGO (9/25/15) - East Texas Baptist University men's and women's cross country coach Natalie Bach-Prather was one of 150 athletes to represent the United States in Chicago, Illinois in the Age-Group Olympic-Distance World Championship race. The event was part of the 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final and World Championships from September 15-19, hosted by the City of Chicago.
"It was an incredible experience to represent my country and race with the best age-groupers in the world." said Prather. "Competing in a race like this is a great way for me as a coach to show my athletes a world of competition past college athletics, as well as show them what it takes to get to that level."
The City of Chicago welcomed 150 of the world's top Olympic-distance triathletes as they competed for a world championship title less than a year prior to the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. In addition to the elite races, the event featured top-flight sprint and Olympic-distance races for age-group athletes, paratriathletes, juniors and under-23s, as well as an aquathlon opening event. In all, more than 6,500 of the world's best triathletes competed for world titles over four days of competition.
Prather is no stranger to higher-level competition having run in the 2011, 2013, and 2014 Boston Marathons and competed in the Texas Ironman in 2012.
"I believe my personal racing career has a lot of influence on my athletes and recruits and hope that it will encourage them to chase their dreams and work harder every year," said Prather.
Prather participates in a sponsored triathlon team called Woolly G's Bike and Fitness from Longview, Texas, and in 2014, she qualified for the Age-Group World Championships in triathlons to run in Chicago. Prather also has a strong background in training being certified by the Cooper Institute as a personal trainer, yoga instructor, and nutritional instructor.
As an athlete at ETBU, Prather was a four-year letter winner on the cross country team from 2005-08 where she was an All-American Southwest Conference runner in 2006. In 2015, she also hit a career milestone having an award named after her by the Longview Newspaper. The East Texas Varsity Best Preps banquet will annually designate the Natalie Bach-Prather boys / girls runner of the year award.
A graduate of East Texas Baptist University (2008), Prather completed her master's degree in December 2012 from Stephen F. Austin State University. She currently teaches health and wellness in addition to track and field at East Texas Baptist and is married to the men's basketball assistant coach, Michael Prather.