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Leeann McCathern • CO Springs Photographer ✨

@leeannmaephoto

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I’m so glad you’re here ◡̈
⋒ Colorado Springs 📍
❁ Sincere, warm, & true to life portraits💛
♡ let’s hang!! @leeann.mae

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Catching up!! 💞

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summer eats ✨✨✨

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Wrapping up a whirlwind of family/friends visiting and travels the past few months for me! Now sitting down and giving these a main spot on my digital diary 📔 💛
Thanks @leeannmaephoto for capturing some sweet photos for us here as we are celebrating a year in Colorado. The Army means Justin is not always home, so pictures mean so much as anywhere with him is my home🤍🏔️

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Q2 you were an absolute dream 🦋✨🌷☀️🐚🌸🫶🏼🧚🏻‍♂️🫧☁️🌼🌊

Reunited with long distance best friends, celebrated my 1 year anni @barrys, and ran some here and there! Hearts so full 🤍

📸: @leeannmaephoto & @jade.renaud

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A little reintroduction to your Academy team, clocked out edition☺️🍊

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Book Club 📚❤️

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Run club pt 2 💓🧡🍊🏃🏻‍♀️

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These beautiful people did. their. damn. hard. thing.

Unbelievably blessed and proud to share their first marathon with them.

Thanks Barry’s.

#powerhour #cramps #highway163madeshelbyparklooksmall #whatswithrocknrollputtingfathillsatmile22 #yessameshirtfromlastyear

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San Diego Marathon 2026 🌊🐚✨🪩🦋

Never in a million years did I think I’d ever run 26.2 miles but here we are!!

Last year I felt this need to try something new; something that pushed me outside of my comfort zone and scared me. Did I know it would be running? Absolutely not. Do I have any regrets? Absolutely not. From signing up for the presidio 10k on a whim with @_nadinealyssa, to meeting @leeannmaephoto and running the Monterey half, to somehow convincing the squad to signup for the full… this has been one hell of a ride. I’ve always been the type to say, “I’ll try anything once,” and boy did this experience not disappoint.

Race day aside, the training block was one of the hardest yet most rewarding things I’ve ever committed to. You learn what it means to keep showing up when it’s hard, to push through the moments when you want to quit, and to feel immense gratitude for a body that can carry you farther than you ever thought possible.

But beyond the actual running was the people. The support system that showed up time and time again - near and far. The FaceTime’s with the Colorado Springs squad, the run club that celebrated the highs and lows, and the carbo-loading before & after each distance run - I wouldn’t trade those moments for the world.

I never understood “runners high.” Throughout training I kept hoping I’d feel it, but it never happened until mile 25.8 on race day when I finally got off the highway and hit the downtown stretch to finish. It’s so true when they say the race doesn’t start until mile 20. I had so many moments of doubt - the mix of heat, humidity, and rolling hills really pushed me to my limits. But when I rounded the corner to the final stretch, it felt euphoric. I’d never felt so happy, so amazed, so proud, and so accomplished that I did this. This experience is was everything I hoped it would be and so much more 🥹

Will I ever run another 26.2? Never say never, but for now I’m sitting in this moment of gratitude and looking forward to my next race in November :)

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Global running day aka the perfect excuse to yap more about my first marathon! It’s genuinely crazy to me that I finished 26.2 miles this weekend. 🥹 I didn’t pick running back up until my mom got really sick- it gave me space to think, get out of my own head, and reminded me to keep moving forward. Running reminds me that we can do hard things, over & over again. 🦋

The amount of time that goes into marathon training is crazy. Since January it’s been a lot of early morning runs before work, late night runs after work, Saturday runs, and then long run Sundays. There were so many days I wanted to quit, but training for this marathon was a commitment I made not just for myself, but also my Barry’s family ♥️ Even though most of us weren’t able to train together, we still did this together 💟 We celebrated the wins, talked through the hard runs, and kept each other going 💛 They’re the most magical & wonderful group of people and i’m forever inspired by them, and lucky to call them my team!! And of course, an extra shoutout to my guy, @drew.mccathern who did all of this training with me and never once doubted that I could do this. ily🫶🏼

People say that the marathon is just the celebration of the hard work you put in while training, butttt honestly marathon day was HARD 🥲 The heat, the hills, the humidity. I didn’t even get close to the time I wanted, but i’m also amazed I was able to push through!! To keep going & run the entirety of the race. 🏃🏻‍♀️

I thought about my mom so much during this! She loved to run, & would always tell me “everytime you’re on a run, i’m wondering if you’re enjoying the sun on your face!” and while I would’ve loved a lottttt less of the San Diego sun this weekend 😅 all I could really feel at the end of this marathon was grateful 🤍

Running has taught me so much💛 About discipline & grit, how important it is to make promises to yourself and to keep them‼️ That even when things get hard-the only way out is through. This was my mantra on all my runs after losing my mom & I swear by it. Most importantly, it’s taught me that we’re capable of so much more than we dare to believe 💫

I’m so thankful!! ♥️ (and sore!!)

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onto the next!🤩🩵

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