When Claire McAuley came home from Glasgow (Scotland) School of Sport High School (an elite school for athletes) one winter evening, she mentioned to her parents, off the cuff, that she had spoken with an international college recruiter that day at school.
Parents, Peter and Trisha were not thrilled with the prospect of their youngest of two daughters going off to school in America. But they also figured it was probably a passing whim, something Claire would soon forget about in favor of one of Scotland’s own universities. So her parents said, “We’ll see.” The recruiter took Claire’s biography, a record of her best track times, schools, etc., and after contacting America with trade programs, told her they had an offer. Would Claire like to go to college at a Division 1 university on a full ride? The school was Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.
Claire was thrilled, but realized she would have to get her parents on board. Secondly, where was DeKalb, Illinois? The McAuleys weren’t initially enthused, but the words “full ride” did attract their attention. Claire excelled in such events as the 1500m and the 3000m and Scotland did not offer the same type of post high school track programs as the United States.
Claire loves to run and didn’t want to have her running career end with high school. The McAuleys, to be sure the NIU contract was 100% legitimate, had an attorney read the fine print and, in the fall of 2010, flew to the States with their daughter to get her situated in college.
Once her parents met the track team and the track family of coaches, they felt much better about their daughter being so far away from home.
Ryan Ludlum from Bushnell, Illinois had just finished a four-year stint with the United States Marine Corps. He was looking to finish the college degree he had started before going into the service. A friend recommended a program at Northern Illinois University, and Ryan enrolled.
Call it divine intervention or fate or just good timing, Claire McAuley, the track runner from Scotland, and Ryan Ludlum, the former Marine from Bushnell, ended up attending the same social gathering at NIU in the fall of 2012. At this social event, Claire did notice Ryan and half-jokingly told a friend who knew Ryan to “tell him to text me sometime.”
The friend, not thinking Claire was serious, failed to relay the message. When Claire saw the friend again, she mentioned she had never heard from Ryan, and the friend apologized telling her he would tell Ryan immediately. Several days later, Ryan Ludlum and Claire McAuley began dating, and there was no looking back.
Ryan and Claire had two weddings: a smaller one in Sycamore, IL on October 11, 2015 and then a larger, full blown Scottish wedding at the Jerry Lewis Farm (north of Macomb) on September 3, 2016. The men of the wedding party all wore special-ordered kilts.
Post-wedding years took Ryan and Claire on a journey. Different jobs and advanced college degrees took them from DeKalb to Aurora, to Omaha, Nebraska, back to St. Charles, Illinois.
Then came their most recent and possibly last move.
Somewhere amongst all of the moving vans, trips to visit parents and family at holidays, including trips to Scotland, and the general disdain for apartment style living, Ryan and Claire made a realization. Instead of letting money and jobs dictate their lives, they decided to take control and move to a place their souls wanted to be. The Ludlums decided to leave Chicago suburban life and move back to Bushnell, Illinois.
Gary and Lisa Ludlum reside in nearby rural Prairie City, and as Claire put it, “We wanted to at least be near one set of parents full time, during the years and holidays we couldn’t travel to Scotland.”
Where they had struggled to save enough money to buy a house in the Chicago area, in Bushnell they found a wonderful home on a corner lot, for a fraction of what property would have cost in the Chicago suburbs. Jobs came easily-Ryan landed employment with the City of Bushnell, which pleased him as he loves being outdoors. Claire was hired by Canton, Illinois School District #66 and teaches physical education at Ingersoll Middle School and also coaches – you guessed it – track. Claire’s parents and sister Katie, her husband Chris and their baby, Rory will all be visiting in Summer.
What is next for Ryan and Claire?
They hope now that they are geographically settled, to start a family. They love doing projects on their new home and enjoy immensely being able to be at all of the family functions, also attending nieces’ and nephews’ sporting events. Claire emphasizes that all of their moving around was not in vain. Each place they have lived brought them new sets of friends that they will keep in contact with for life.
If you see these two around the vicinity, give them a big welcome back. The dashing Marine veteran, and the young girl that journeyed from Scotland so that she could run in America, they are definitely an asset to Bushnell and Bushnell is no doubt glad to have them. The dream of the white picket fence is still alive.
Claire Ludlum's American Family pictured, from the left: Vika Ludlum, Lucas Lovejoy, Masha (Ludlum) Lovejoy, Lisa Ludlum, Gary Ludlum, Ryan Ludlum, Claire (Mcauley) Ludlum. Children in front: Henry Lovejoy, Aryanna Simpson, Maxwell Lovejoy.
September 3, 2016 Ryan Ludlum and Claire Mcauley are married at the Jerry Lewis Farm North of Macomb. The men in the wedding party all wore kilts.
Claire came to the United States from Scotland on a full scholarship to run track for Northern Illinois University.
