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Pure determination, a little stubbornness and a new ElliptiGO bike made it possible. Meet Cathy Matzek, our September 2026 Rider of the Month!

An Outdoor Kid

Cathy was born and raised in Northern California, the middle child in a family with four brothers. “I was always an outdoor kid, riding bikes and motorcycles for fun,” she says.

In high school, Cathy found her sport. “I started running track in high school and fell in love with it,” she recalls. She was a sprinter who ran the 440 and the 880 and earned a sports letter.

After high school, Cathy stepped away from running. She married at 20 and had the first of her three sons at 21.

Hooked on a Dare

In her late 30s, a dare brought Cathy back to running. She shares, “My book club decided we all had to do something we never thought we could do.” So, Cathy and three others signed up for the Orange County Half Marathon. However, Cathy was the only book club member to actually complete the race.

The half marathon was the former sprinter’s first long-distance race. As she trained, Cathy says, “I got hooked on running again.” From there, the finish lines added up. Cathy would go on to run more than 25 half marathons and 22 full marathons. 

Of all those races, one means the most to Cathy: the Bataan Memorial Death March, a marathon held in the high desert at White Sands Missile Range near Las Cruces, New Mexico. “It’s a very tough race,” Cathy says. “The first 13 miles are an incline, then it’s switchbacks back to the start.” 

The race honors the service members who were captured and forced to march the Bataan Death March in the Philippines at the beginning of World War II. For Cathy, it’s personal. Her grandfather survived the march and a brutal prisoner-of-war camp but was later killed aboard one of the ships carrying prisoners to Japan. “I’ve run that marathon at least eight times with my brother and other family members in his honor,” she says. 

“In the race, survivors of the death march would stand at the start and shake the hands of the runners,” Cathy recalls. “Nobody ran when the start gun went off, until they passed the survivors.” 

Finding a Way to GO

In 2014, Cathy tore the plantaris muscle in her calf while running. Her orthopedist told her it would take a year of physical therapy (PT) to heal. Cathy recalls, “I was told, ‘No running!’”

But Cathy knew there had to be a way to get back to running more quickly. She had seen an ElliptiGO bike at the Orange County Marathon expo. Immediately after leaving the doctor’s office, she ordered a red ElliptiGO 8C. “I had not even test-ridden one yet,” she says, “but I figured I could use it along with PT to heal.”

It took about six weeks before Cathy’s physical therapist cleared her to ride. Cathy says, “Once I got the hang of riding an elliptical bike, I just kept riding!” After a couple of months of PT and ElliptiGO riding, she got the okay to run again.

“During the year of ‘no running,’ I ran two half marathons and one full marathon without injury!” Cathy says. “I’m stubborn like that! I didn’t like being told I couldn’t run, so I had to prove I could! I could not have done that without the GO.”

A Gaggle of GOs

That first red 8C was just the beginning. “I have owned a gaggle of GOs over the years,” Cathy says. Today, Cathy owns four ElliptiGO bikes: a silver Anniversary GO, a SUB (Stand Up Bike), an MSUB (Mountain Stand Up Bike) and a Meb edition 8S.

One of those bikes now lives on the other side of the country. “My SUB snuck into my son’s moving pod and now lives in Wantagh, New York, on Long Island,” she says. “It’s there so I can GO when visiting my granddaughter and her family.”

Challenges and Solutions

These days, Cathy’s life is very full. She has welcomed four grandchildren in just two years. At the same time, she is caregiving for her parents, who are both 90; her mom is on home hospice. And after one of her sons was diagnosed with colon cancer last year, Cathy has been helping him through his treatment. 

Meanwhile, Cathy had been experiencing shortness of breath during exercise. After two years of searching for the cause, her doctors discovered that the lower lobe of one of her lungs isn’t inflating when she breathes.

Cathy added the Electric Bike Conversion Kit to her 8S and kept GOing. On her newly electrified ElliptiGO bike, Cathy rides the river trail near her home and along the beach. “Both are relatively flat, so they don’t bother my breathing. Hills are a no-go right now,” she explains.

“I have a lot on my shoulders, and riding the eGO is my escape,” she says. 

Friends on the GO

Cathy’s favorite rides are the ones she shares with friends. “I love the San Diego ElliptiGO group rides down in Solana Beach, California,” she says. “It’s great to get away and catch up with friends.”

Her most memorable rides are the Wildflower Pedal Fest (which is no longer held, unfortunately) and the Little Red ride in Cache Valley, Utah. “They’re all-women rides in beautiful country areas of Utah,” Cathy says. “Nice rolling hills and limited to no traffic.”

When it comes to ElliptiGO events, one stands above the rest. “The best ElliptiGO event is the Winter Classic in Arizona!” Cathy says. “There is always a great group of riders to spend my birthday weekend with each year. Not only are the group rides beautiful and fun, but there are a lot of shenanigans going on after the rides.”

The 2027 Winter Classic is coming up, January 15–17. Cathy notes, “You have to attend the Winter Classic to find out what happens!” Apparently what happens at the Winter Classic stays at the Winter Classic!

Cathy is also a regular on the sidelines at the ElliptiGO World Championships, which takes place October 16–18, 2026. “Although I have yet to ride up Palomar Mountain, I really enjoy going to cheer on the riders and celebrate afterward on the group rides and at the dinner,” she says. “It’s always a great way to catch up with friends from all over the country. I would never have met so many wonderful people without ElliptiGO.”

As a member of the Global ElliptiGO Riders Club (GERC), Cathy has logged thousands of miles on ElliptiGO bikes. According to the GERC leaderboard, she has ridden more than 15,800 lifetime miles and climbed more than 352,000 feet of elevation. Her longest single ride? A full century of 100.95 miles!

A Healthy Investment

Cathy doesn’t just ride; she recruits. So far, five of her friends have bought ElliptiGO bikes. “They were interested because they could get a good workout without the impact on their knees. (We’re all old!)” she says. “They were athletes in their youth but had to cut back on their sports due to injuries. The GO gave them another chance to exercise.”

And if you see Cathy out on a ride, don’t be too shy to say hello. “I stop and talk about the value of ElliptiGO bikes to anyone who is interested,” she says. “It was a great investment in my health.”

Way to GO!

From defying a “no running” order to bringing her friends into the ElliptiGO family, Cathy shows what determination and a generous heart can do. Even with so much on her shoulders, she keeps GOing.

Thank you, Cathy, for sharing your story with the ElliptiGO community. Congratulations on being our September 2026 Rider of the Month! We hope your rides bring you plenty of joy and peace in the months ahead. We can’t wait to celebrate your birthday with you at the next Winter Classic!

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