To call cyclist Kathy Corbett a master may be a sort of understatement.

Sure, she is over 40 - the minimum age to compete as a master - and yes, she races all over the Midwest against people in her same age group. But taking one look at her resume reveals she is not only a master, but also one of the masters of her sport in the country.

Since beginning her racing career in 2000, the 52-year-old North Shore native has amassed an incredible amount of hardware. Corbett, who is also the mother of four grown children, is a four-time American Bicycle Racing national champion, a Mid-America Time Trial Series champion, a former United States Cycling Federation Illinois Road Race champion and was named the ABR rider of the year in 2001.

Not a bad career for someone who pretty much got into cycling full-time by accident. In the early 1990s, Corbett competed in local triathlons such as Mrs. T's and the Danskin Women's Tri. She also liked to run half-marathons and was hoping that a marathon could possibly have been in her future. Corbett began seeing progress with each race she ran but unfortunately was forced to give up competing in triathlons and road races after a knee injury and subsequent arthroscopy procedure made it difficult to run. So at the advice of her orthopedic surgeon, Corbett gave up running and began training on the bike.

Talk about making the most of a potentially bad situation! She started out as a touring cyclist, taking long rides with a group of friends to places as far away as Canada. At first, cycling was more fun than competition.

"We would ride around without any particular place to go, just doing a little sightseeing," she said. "But one by one I started losing my touring partners. Then a friend of mine who was riding with some fast groups around the North Shore area suggested I come out and ride with them."

She joined the group, but at first the training was very tough. She was up to the challenge, though, and adapted quickly.

"I didn't think I could keep up, and at first I didn't," she said, "but I just kept at it, and now I can definitely keep up."

After almost 10 years of cycling, Corbett finally rode her first race at 50, and picked up eight race victories in 2000, her first season. She then won an incredible 14 races in 2001 - including the ABR road race and time trial national championships -- and was a perfect six-for-six this season through the end of May.

Corbett races with the Midwest Masters Cycling team, which is based in Madison, Wis. The team has cyclists ranging from their early 40s to mid-60s who join the club for masters competitions. Sponsored by Cronometro - a cycling shop in Madison - the team also helps promote the sport and further masters racing at all levels.

"It's a great club," she said. "There are a lot of people out there competing as masters, and we are always encouraging people to ride."

Her training philosophy is simple - miles and more miles on the bike. Because of the unpredictable weather this spring, her training has been a bit sporadic, but as the weather improves, so will the miles in her log. Corbett hopes to be training at about 225 miles per week in July to get ready to defend her state and national titles.

Another of her training secrets is think young. Corbett enjoys a challenge, and the best one of all is to train hard with younger, faster cyclists. Most of her 6 a.m. training runs are with a group of 35-year-old riders that she meets up with for a 90-minute ride (about 30 miles). She's not the fastest one in her group, but when she starts racing her peers on weekends...watch out!

"I've been riding around with these 35-year-olds for a long time, thinking I wasn't very good at it," she said with a laugh. "Then I started racing against other 50-year-old women and I found I was pretty good! If you train and ride with people who are better than you, it makes you better. It's certainly worked for me."

Like a lot of athletes who are finding success as they grow older, Corbett thinks she has a lot of good years of cycling left. One of the reasons, she believes, is that unlike younger athletes, older athletes' lives are more set and include fewer responsibilities. A homemaker with no children left to care for gives Corbett plenty of time to focus on her craft and plenty of time to improve.

"When I was younger, I was a single mom and had four kids and didn't even have time to do regular exercise," she said. "My kids are grown and I am remarried and am home more. I started focusing on the training, and I've actually gotten better as I've gotten older.

"I'm more focused now. When you are young you tend to have a million things that you can do, but as I get older I pick up one or two that I can do well."

Mike Knapp is a freelance writer based in Aurora.