Nomadic CrossFitter: Lindsay Vaughan

April 30, 2013

Ivory Carr

“One of the great things about CrossFit is that there is always the next workout to challenge you, and you cannot dwell on a bad workout for long."


Photos by: Ehren Vaughan

In the midst of lengthy travels, Lindsay Vaughan qualified for the North West Regional. She was on vacation throughout the Open and completed all the workouts on the road.

“My husband and I have been adventurers and the entire trip has been organized around CrossFit so I can continue my goal of qualifying to compete as an individual at Regionals,” Vaughan says.

Visiting far-away family and seeing the world is a major goal for Vaughn and her husband, Ehren — but so is CrossFit.

Vaughan qualified as an individual in 2012, but decided to compete for her team, CrossFit Refinery, to gain competition experience and to better understand where to focus her training for the future. That year, the team finished in 10th place at the North West Regional.

This year, Vaughan didn’t have the option to go team, so, it’s individual all the way.

“I thought I had what it takes to qualify (for Regionals), but the Open threw me some major curve balls,” she says.

Despite several top scores in the region, Vaughan’s quest to qualify for Regionals wasn’t as smooth as she hoped it would be. She placed in the top five on every Open workout except 13.2, where she had a disappointing score of 282 reps placing her 345thin the region on the grueling triplet.

“I was pretty devastated. I considered throwing in the towel, but Ehren quickly helped me remember how far I had come. Having his support makes all the difference on those tough days,” she says.

“One of the great things about CrossFit is that there is always the next workout to challenge you, and you cannot dwell on a bad workout for long. When 13.3 was announced, I recommitted all my attention to giving everything I had and then some.”

This year, Vaughan burned through 22 muscle-ups within the 12-minute cap, resulting in a score of 262 and securing the top spot on the workout for women in the North West.

She ended the Open with fourth-place finishes on 13.4 and 13.5. She narrowly qualified for Regionals in the 48th spot and says 13.2 still haunts her.

“I’m re-committed to proving that I am capable to perform at that level of competition and to erase that dismal 13.2 performance.”

Vaughan credits the CrossFit community for a huge part of her success. Australian affiliate, CrossFit Ballina, was extremely supportive of Vaughn during the Open.

The couple will continue their travels through April, visiting affiliates and training hard in preparation for Regionals.

“I’m still following Invictus closely and I look to be competitive at Regionals. I feel that while I am still improving, setting PRs and loving CrossFit, there is no reason to not have the lofty goal of qualifying for the Games. You have to want it and work for it, or you will never earn it.”