Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Pritchard
Hi Caroline, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Hi, my name is Caroline Pritchard, I’m 23 years old, and I have lived in Minnesota my whole life. I grew up alpine ski racing and playing softball competitively. My high school softball team, the Northfield Raiders, even won the 2019 Minnesota State Softball Tournament for the first time in school history. After graduating high school I continued to stay active playing intramural sports, lifting weights, and participating in the University of Minnesota’s Marching Band in college.
What no one prepares you for after graduation is having to seek out organized activities, or what I like to call them “adult enrichment activities”. I’ve been part of teams and communities my entire life with sports, and after graduation, I was seeking that community again.
I began running in the Spring of 2023 and immediately fell in love with the sport. One of my best friends encouraged me to attend a Mill City Running community run in Minneapolis, which sounded really scary and intimidating to someone who has never ran with other people, but I’m really glad I did! I immediately found a great community of people at Mill City – but my journey doesn’t stop here. I heard about a new social club disguised as a run club called Cooldown Running, so I decided to try this group out too. After religiously attending Monday night runs and meeting so many new people, I was asked to be a leader of the group. Monday nights are one of my favorite nights of the week because Cooldown is a great place for any run-curious person or walker!
Because of my love for movement and running, I decided to apply to be an Ambassador or TCMbassador of the Twin Cities in Motion non-profit organization. Their vision is: a community that engages each other through movement, making for a healthier society both socially and physically – which speaks exactly to my missions and goals for movement as well. I’m super grateful to get to work with some amazing people from so many different backgrounds!
My love for movement doesn’t stop at running through – I continue to play in multiple softball leagues and pickleball leagues, road bike, lift weights, attend group fitness classes, and more! I document all of these escapades on Instagram. In college, I was the Social Media Manager of the University’s Marching Band for 4 years, and now I currently work professionally in social media, so naturally I decided to start a “just for fun” instagram account to track my progress with running and movement called @CarolineinMotion. I love to post about my real life experiences on this account – not just the glamorous side of fitness and movement which a lot of fitness influencers and accounts do. I just signed up for my first marathon, the Twin Cities Medtronic Marathon put on by Twin Cities in Motion, and I am very nervous. Follow along if you’d like to see more of my journey in completing my first marathon!
Overall, I’m really glad I put myself out there after college and decided to try so many new things. Trying new things can be scary, but I’ve always come out on the other side with new friends and memories. Minneapolis is such a fantastic place to meet new people and form communities around similar interests. I’ve been able to grow my support group of friends so much within the past year, and I cannot wait to see where this next year takes me!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No – I unfortunately developed an eating disorder in college. This caused me to view workouts and movement as a punishment for nourishing my body and eating. A lot of times, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with my activities because I was under fueled and exhausted.
After a lot of hard work with self reflection and recovery treatments, I’m now able to balance my life in a much healthier way by fueling my body, enjoying my workouts, and having lots of fun with friends outside of fitness. To me, life is so much more than having the “perfect Instagram body” or “perfect fitness aesthetic” – it’s about the wonderful people I meet, delicious food I devour after workouts, and making memories to last a lifetime!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I run an Instagram account called @CarolineinMotion, so I guess I would consider myself a very micro-influencer for Minneapolis fitness and movement. I hesitate to say the word influencer though because I don’t post events or attend different group activities for money or clout, I do it because I love it! I just so happen to influence my friends and followers to try new things with me, be active, and achieve their own goals.
The content I’ve highlighted on my Instagram in the past year includes Mill City Running community runs, Cooldown Running weekly runs, Twin Cities in Motion events and activities, ClassPass classes, Pickleball leagues, and other activities I love to do in my free time! I don’t make any money from any of these organizations, I just genuinely love spending my time being active and sharing silly pictures and videos of myself and my friends.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My family and my boyfriend play a huge role in my success. They always attend my competitions and cheer me on!
Also the lovely people I’ve gotten to know at each run club, pickleball league night, or gym session. I always look forward to mornings and nights because I get to connect with people while doing my favorite activities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/carolineinmotion
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolineinmotion/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@carolineinmotion
