After more than a decade supporting each other’s sporting dreams across continents and mountain trails, Rotorua-born ultrarunning star Caitlin Fielder and her champion cyclist fiancé George Bennett are locking in their next big goal.
The longtime couple is finally celebrating their engagement after Nelson-born George surprised his 32-year-old love in Europe by popping the question, much to the relief of everyone around them.
“We’re the last couple out of our family and friends to get married,” laughs Caitlin.
“Everyone’s been hanging out for him to at least propose.”
True to their laidback style, the moment wasn’t grand but felt perfect. To celebrate Caitlin’s birthday in Andorra, in the Pyrenees mountains, where the couple now live, she’d organised a relaxed lunch with friends by a lake. Just before the gathering began, the couple set off on a quiet walk through the hills and it was there – with nothing but nature around them – that George, 35, got down on one knee.
“It was super-special and calm – kind of like us,” Caitlin grins.
Wedding plans still on the move
Given the cycling star had secretly asked Caitlin’s parents’ permission a year earlier, they were the first people they called to share the happy news. But with racing taking priority – Caitlin has just placed second at the Tarawera Ultra-Trail in Rotorua – there hasn’t been much time for wedding planning. A likely setting will be somewhere near Andorra, surrounded by friends who have become family over the years.
“It might be in Spain or around Andorra,” she muses.
“Maybe a Spanish villa where everyone can stay together.”
How it all began
The couple’s love story began long before their careers took them global. Living in Nelson, George was already a professional cyclist, travelling internationally with elite teams. About a year after they met, Caitlin made the big decision to follow him to Europe.
“I moved to a country where I couldn’t speak the language, and my partner already knew everything and had his life set up. It took me a while to figure out what I was doing.”
Finding her own path
That search for purpose eventually led her to running. Although Caitlin had been sporty while growing up, she’d struggled to settle on a single discipline.
“I did everything – water polo, netball, football, kayak polo, orienteering… all of it.”
With time to explore the mountains around her new home in Spain, she decided to commit to training.
“I got a coach just to have something each day that I had to do,” she recalls.
“Otherwise, it was easy to feel a bit overwhelmed.”
A rising endurance career
That decision opened the door to an entirely new career. Today Caitlin is one of New Zealand’s rising endurance athletes, competing in some of the world’s toughest trail events as an Adidas Terrex Athlete.
Despite not pursuing trail running until her mid-to-late twenties, she says it has proved an ideal fit. Now she’s hoping her story of becoming a professional athlete later in life will inspire others.
“We put lots of emphasis on starting things really young,” Caitlin explains.
“But there’s no reason you can’t begin later. You never know what you’re capable of until you try.”
Life in the mountains
For now, life in Andorra suits the couple perfectly. High alpine trails begin almost at their doorstep and they’re part of a community of international athletes who have become close friends. But the changing nature of professional cycling contracts means the couple’s life “can be very transient”, admits Caitlin.
Despite demanding schedules and international travel, the pair find joy together sharing long training days in the mountains mixed with family time back in New Zealand. For Caitlin – who’s also nurtured a creative career, previously running a business customising cycling shoes – running remains the priority.
“Art takes a lot of time and interaction with people,” she says.
“Right now, I want to focus on running, but I’m sure I’ll come back to it.”
George’s creative side
Meanwhile, George, who speaks Dutch, Italian, French and Spanish, also has creative talents of his own.
“He’s really good at guitar,” Caitlin enthuses.
“He’s a smart guy.”
And with their relationship all about growing together and doing life at their own pace, they’re not in any rush to set a wedding date.
Caitlin smiles, “We’ve taken 11 years to get to this point. We’re pretty casual about it.”
