Boring is different, and slowness not her strong suit. U.S.-based Allie McLaughlin thinks fast, talks even faster and, to borrow a German phrase, dances at different weddings at the same time.

She will be coming to the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck-Stubai as the defending World Champion in the Uphill and the bronze medalist in the Mountain Classic. Her starting place for the opening race on June 7 is guaranteed, but she still has to qualify within her team for a second appearance. "I'm looking forward to the WMTRC, to seeing old and new friends from all over the world, to the teams in their national jerseys, to my U.S. teammates," the athlete, a native from Ohio, but living at around 2,000 m above sea level in Colorado Springs, says. "And I'm especially thinking of Austrian local hero Andrea Mayr. I met her for the first time in 2014 when she won one of her World Cup titles and I finished in third place. The fact that she was in Chiang Mai the previous year, that she remembered me and was a runner-up behind me added prestige to my success. Mayr is a role model in terms of consistency and longevity at the highest athletic level. I'm looking forward to duelling with her again soon."

In 2014, McLaughlin - with her father a member of the U.S. Air Force, and ancestors from Ireland - won a World Championship title that would be the equivalent of today's Mountain Classic; in 2016, she injured her hip and was forced to take a break from running.

That’s when she discovered a new passion. On a trip to Moab, she met a gang of sky divers and base jumpers and was certain that "I want to do that!” Ever since 2017, McLaughlin has been up in the air at an increasing rate, skydiving and paragliding, and in March of this year, she managed her first base jump. "It's always cool to do new things, and I fervently hope to do many, many more jumps off buildings or mountains." The fact that the athlete must spend a lot of time on her feet on the way to her jumps can be chalked up to endurance training for running.

"The World Championships will be a terrific celebration, not least because the organizers have so much experience from organizing the Innsbruck Alpine Trailrun Festival!"

"Running was my first great love and it always will be," the likeable North American tells us. The fact that she lives in Colorado, 20 minutes from the base of Pikes Peak (4,301 m), having a surplus of trails and altitude meters on her doorstep makes training easier and promotes her love of nature.

At the WMTRC in Thailand, she pulled off the perfect vertical. "The start was very fast, and the legs felt it, but without any painful fatigue. I led all the time going uphill; I liked that and I could control my opponents quite well." The course in Stubai is at a higher sea level than the one in Chiang Mai, but the U.S. athlete should have no trouble adjusting to the circumstances in Tyrol. "I've never run in Austria before, so I imagine that Mayr will enjoy a home advantage," says Allie McLaughlin, laughing, "At any rate, I'm not arriving bearing any gifts." There's no question about that, if only because the world-class athlete's parents will also be there.

Thinking even further, beyond the WMTRC, McLaughlin is planning on bringing her paragliding equipment, and it's probably very fortunate that the very spot for the mountain running medal ceremony doubles as a popular take-off base for paragliders. With just a few days between the WMTRC and the next race in the USA, however, she is on a somewhat tight schedule. McLaughlin has been emotionally attached to the Broken Arrow Skyrace in Palisades Tahoe ever since her Sturm-und-Drang running days. She will return to Europe in late summer to compete at the OCC during the UTMB week in late August.

She's a base jumper and mountain runner and filmmaker, feels inspired by a global energy drink company based in Austria, cares for her dog named Hearley Quinn, likes the TV series "New Girl" as well as partying, and loves mixing cocktails. "I'm already looking forward to the closing ceremony," she says, "It's going to be a wonderful night!"

There's no time to slow down or get bored with Allie McLaughin. She's going to rock the WMTRC - on and alongside the tracks.

Pics: (c) Eugene Fernandez, Dylan Harris, Peter Maksimov