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Kim McLaughlin

@kimberlinaloo

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💍😺🏋️‍♀️🏃‍♀️
Ultramarathoner x 6
🌿Adventure Always 🍁
Miss you Momma 💕
I truly believe leggings are pants!

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

It wasn’t the distance I was shooting for but it WAS the distance I trained for!

My original goal from way back last fall was 100K in 20 hours.

I am now officially a 100K ultramarathoner!

18:30:06.

I started off so strong and smart, thanks to crew chief extraordinaire @cyn.cynnycyn . Then past 60K my left hip was experiencing sharp pain, and that spread to my lower back, which is never a good sign for me. I started thinking of one month from now when I will be in Australia, running the Sydney marathon. In the end, it wasn’t worth a serious injury to keep going, especially when the further I got, the cutoff became unrealistic.

100 kilometres is a distance PR for me by 20 km as my longest race before that was Sulphur Springs 50 miler.

Also, a year ago, I would’ve been terrified to run at night by myself. Last night, I didn’t have a pacer and felt very comfortable out there on the course with my headlamp trying to navigate where I was supposed to go without tripping over tree roots! There are a lot of wins to be counted here!

More than anything I need to express my absolute deepest gratitude and admiration for my dear friend and crew chief Cynthia! 🩵

I had run 14 laps which came out to 98 km. I wanted to finish with exactly 100 so I had to run 2 km on the rail trail and then walk back and Cynthia came with me. I was so exhausted and so much pain and yet laughing hysterically at our convos! I’m sure people thought we were crazy ha ha… 🤣

Congratulations to my teammate and friend @kimberlinaloo for setting a distance PR as well! Also, thank you to @jossrunstrails for coming out to support us (and of course untangle my Shokz from my hair! 😂) I couldn’t have spent this time with better people! 🩵🩵🩵

Race: @happytrailsracing Tally in the Valley

@iamheardco
@trailblazerruncoaching
@shinsplintgod
@shokzcanada

#ultra
#100k
#tallyinthevalley
#shokzstar
#adaptiveathlete

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It all comes down to one weekend, and I’m about to leave it all on the table.

Only few people have known my plan for tomorrow.

I have 30 hours, and my goal is 23 laps of the Tally course….

That’s 161km…. 100 miles.

It’s scary putting that out there but I also love the accountability.

I couldn’t have had the conditions come together so perfectly- almost 2000km logged this year, feeling good, amazing weather, the BEST crew and teammates, and SO many friends out there on the loops with me, chasing their goals. 🩵🩵🩵

I put tobacco down at the tree by our crew tent. 🍂

I’ve dedicated each loop to a different family member or friend, each one’s name written on a fish. 🐠

I’m posting pictures of these people on a board in my tent to remind me of all I have to be grateful for.

Everything is perfect, so why not chase that big scary goal tomorrow?!

I’m sure there are many who would question my readiness, whether someone like me could actually accomplish this distance.

I go back to the words of @rachel__entrekin … “why NOT me?” 🥹🥰

Cannot wait! 🩵🩵🩵

Race: @happytrailsracing Tally in the Valley

@trailblazerruncoaching
@iamheardco

#100miler
#ultra
#tallyinthevalley
#adaptiveathlete

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☀️ Sunburn Solstice relay race was a blast!

The race itself was so much fun but the best part were the laughs shared in between each loop.

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Sulphur Springs 100K Recap – Part 2

Looking back on the photos now, what stands out most is how happy I looked. The weather was almost perfect. Cool temperatures. Slightly overcast skies. No rain. I can see the excitement on my face in every picture. The anticipation. The confidence. The joy of finally being there after months of training and preparation.

Maybe “naive” isn’t the right word, but I truly had no idea what was about to unfold over the next 100 kilometres. And honestly, I’m grateful for that.

I’m grateful I took so many photos during that first loop because as the day went on, the race became less about documenting the experience and more about simply surviving it.

With about five minutes to spare, I left the tent and walked to the start line with Patrick. I found Selene - @small.onee - and we shared a hug, a few tears, and some final words I’ll carry with me for a very long time.

Then suddenly it was time.

No time to overthink.

No time to be scared.

Within seconds, we were moving.

The opening loop around the crew area was an incredible sendoff. Family, friends, crew members, and volunteers lined the route cheering us on. The energy was electric.

And then just like that, we turned down Martin Road and the adventure truly began.

I settled into my pace almost immediately and made a decision right then and there that this race would be mine.

Not the clock’s.

Not anyone else’s expectations.

Mine.

My only goal was forward movement and experiencing every part of the journey.

The first loop wasn’t about racing. It was about finding my footing, learning the course, and soaking in every second.

There’s one section where I remember smiling to myself and thinking about Bilbo Baggins setting off from the Shire. As silly as that sounds, that’s exactly how it felt. Like I was heading out on the greatest adventure I had ever undertaken.

For one beautiful loop, everything felt simple. And I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Part 3 tomorrow: when everything changed.

@sulphurspringstrailrace

#ultra #ultrarunner

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What a morning volunteering at the Good Friday Road Races! Perfect weather, familiar faces, and the Easter Bunny was generous with the goodies. @burlingtonrunnersclub #goodfridayroadrace

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Another @ugseries in the books repping @crossfit.col with team Col Lotta Fun! @braggsbaby @kimberlinaloo @doliveira10

Well done Col squad!

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So 25.1 is a rap, I liked it a lot cus was free for all levels of CrossFit(ers). Thanks to @jtpeel for the awesome pictures.

1. Hector watching @kimberlinaloo killing it.
2. Coffee pre workout.
3. Semi professional exerciser. Désigne by @leahhroth
4. First compliment I got this week.
5. We have take off.....
6. Hector regrets his decisions.
7. Death by burpees.
8. Hector still regrets his decision.
9. Lunge myself out. Judged by @lanafernleyvb
10. Being a bit judgmental.
10.1 Holly supervising things are running on schedule.
PS. Edit cus I don't know to count and describe.

That's all folks......

#crossfit #open25

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Baby it’s cold outside -16 feels -23

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Showing up is the hardest part 🏃‍♀️✨ 6 months ago I faced my fear of group running. It truly opened up a whole world of opportunity to find community. 💗

Thanks to that first Wednesday night @fleetfeetchicago group run March 2024 and the kindness of the runners there (shout out @ms_recknagel and @sheilaxlynn), I gained the courage to sign up for spring half marathon training through Chicago Endurance Sports (@chicagoendurancesports). That led me to meeting some pretty amazing running friends along the way (you know who you are!!!) 🤗

Fast forward 6 months of training, races, meeting digital friends in real life…October 2024 I volunteered to pace a shake out run for the Chicago Marathon with @the.realistic.runner and @getsprints. If you told me in March this was happening I totally wouldn’t have believed you! 🤯

Moral of the story? Put yourself out there. You never know what doors will open up for you unless you show up and try. 🫶

#runcommunity #runningmotivation #slowrunner #chicagomarathon #slowaf #chicagorunners #beginnerrunner #runningvlog #grouprun #slowrunner #runnerthings #Running #runlife #runhappy

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All paces welcome — and meant it 💗 I’m incredibly grateful to be a part of such an inspiring shake out run with @the.realistic.runner and @getsprints this morning.

Clearly more content to come, but dang I’m just so blown away by this group of amazing runners of all paces. 🫶 Also so happy the 80+ friendship bracelets I made this week found their forever homes. ✨🎉

Also BEST OF LUCK to all runners who are going to crush it in the @chimarathon tomorrow! You got this 👏 drop your bib number in the comments! I’ll be cheering y’all on at mile 25.5!

#running #grouprun #realisticrunner #chicagomarathon #runnergirl #slowrunner #slowaf #slowrunnersclub #runhappy #runningcommunity #chicagorunner

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