At 7:15am on Sunday, July 20th, Kim Elizabeth Manning will complete her first Olympic distance triathlon.

First, she’ll swim 36 laps (1 mile) in the outdoor pool at the West Salem Courthouse. Next, she’ll get on a spin bike in the Group Ride & CARDIO30 room at the Club and bike for 24.8 miles. After that, she’ll go upstairs and walk 6.2 miles on her favorite treadmill under the fan.

Kim is doing her first Olympic distance triathlon after undergoing six hip joint replacement surgeries in seven years.

“The first reason, and the probably the biggest reason I’m doing this is to celebrate my recovery from the last set of surgeries,” says Kim. She says after the first few surgeries it would have been easy for her to stop trying new things and reaching for new goals. “Back in 2007, I joined the Courthouse as a place to recover. I started with Water Ex and met some really great people. Over time, I started swimming a few laps at a time. Last month, I thought to myself, what if I got out of the pool and got on a bike. So I did that. Then I wondered what if I got off the bike and walked on the treadmill. So I did that. I realized that if I put of all these things together, I had a triathlon. I did my first super-sprint distance triathlon on June 7th.”

Kim has been through three sets of hip replacement operations: the first set failed, and the second set was recalled.

“Right now, things just feel different. It feels like I’ve finally made it through and I’m ready to do something to celebrate. Plus, I’ll be doing it the day before my 53th birthday!”

Kim would like anyone who has had hip replacement surgery to know that life after hip joint replacement will be different (there are some things she simply cannot do anymore) but you do not have to be inactive or without some adventure. Everyone, no matter what obstacles have been in their way, can accomplish what they set out to do.

Kim Elizabeth Manning will begin her indoor triathlon on Sunday, July 20th at 7:15 a.m. at the West Salem Courthouse. She hopes to finish under 5 hours.

“I have to remind myself that it’ll be great just to finish. I know that I’m doing something that few people with multiple hip joint replacement operations do.”