A profile in motion: Margie Shapiro

Profile:
Born December 30, 1976. Fourth of 5 children.
Ran track and cross country at Georgetown University.
Two children: William (born December 2000), Molly (born August 2003).
Former high school Spanish teacher and track coach. Currently
tutors Spanish.
Currently coaches runners (Potomac River Running) and triathletes
(Fitness Concepts).
Opened Potomac River Running stores with husband Brendan, sister
Cathy, and brother-in-law Ray in 2003.
Completed first full season of triathlon in 2002.
Won overall ITU World Age Group Championship 2005.

The early years:
Margaret Therese Stanmeyer was born December 30, 1976 in Indianapolis, IN, the fourth of five children. She grew up with her family in Great Falls, VA and spent her early years swimming competitively with the Curl-Burke Swim Club. At age thirteen, Margie followed in her older siblings’ footsteps and became a runner. At Langley high school she garnered all-state honors in cross country and track and was part of several state-championship relay teams. Margie moved on to Georgetown University, where she was a four-year athlete but battled injuries which limited the success of her college running career.

A new avenue:
Although she graduated with multiple academic honors, Margie left college feeling unfulfilled and turned to triathlons to explore her athletic potential further. While teaching Spanish and coaching high school track, she began to train informally and competed in her first triathlon in Columbia, MD in May of 1999 on a borrowed bike with toe-clips. She won the newbies’ division and fell in love with the sport. Margie married her high school sweetheart, Brendan Shapiro, that same summer (July 1999).

A shift in priorities:
Margie’s new athletic goals were trumped by one of her lifetime goals, to be a mother. She put triathlon competition on hold with the birth of her first child in December 2000. William was a happy, healthy baby, but due to complications, Margie’s healing from the delivery was slow. She came back fresh and recharged in 2002, her first true season, and also picked up a coaching sponsor, Ken Mierke of Fitness Concepts. Coaching provided swift improvement and Margie enjoyed a successful season, taking second in her age group (third overall) at the World Age Group Championship held in Cancun, MX. Margie had the fastest run split of the day in Cancun, and at that point, she still considered herself a runner who could swim and ride.

A baby – and a business – are born:
Margie took another break from triathlons after her success in Cancun to deliver her second child, Molly (born healthy and without complication in August 2003).
During that time she also took on a collaborative role as entrepreneur - helping open two Potomac River Running stores in March, 2003. She did not race at all that year which led to an aggressive training effort in the early months of 2004 and an aggravated foot injury that limited her ambitions for the rest of the season. After two successful races (Columbia—May 2004 and Colonial Beach—July 2004), Margie suffered a partially torn plantar fascia during her Wilkes Barre 2004 race and was forced to stop running for the six weeks before the National Championship being held in Shreveport, LA in September.

No pain no gain.
Margie took on the National Championships despite her perceived lack of training and injury still at hand with a vengeance and her determination was well rewarded. Margie’s third place finish in her age group (5th overall) earned her a trip to the World Age Group Championships the following October in Honolulu, HI (October 2005).

After undergoing "shock wave therapy" (lithotripsy) on her foot in October of 2004, Margie took several months away from running and began to consider herself a “biker working on her swim who could sometimes run.” She returned in 2005 with a newfound discipline of spotting potential injuries before they flared - and the goal of winning the national and world championships. She enjoyed an undefeated final amateur season and, though nationals was canceled (due to thunderstorms), Margie did have dominant wins at the Best of the US Amateur Championship (August 2005) and the World Age Group Championship in October (winning overall by more than 3 minutes–the largest margin of victory ever in the history of the event). With that success, Margie received her elite license and her new level of competition is now underway.

A Day in the Life:
A typical day has Margie on the track coaching athletes or in the pool
swimming by 6:30am, followed by a weight training and run session with her
coach at the gym, plenty of stories and games with the kids, some afternoon
client meetings or Spanish tutoring sessions with high school students, and
an evening bike workout.

With her family (mostly in the area) behind her, Margie is able to maintain her busy schedule and still achieve 15 to 20 hours of training a week. Her supremely supportive husband, Brendan, is completely dedicated to her success. She hopes to use her past setbacks and her proven skill in maximizing training in a challenging schedule to her advantage as she prepares for the competition and dreams of the future - to reach the Olympics in 2008 or 2012— to expand the career that is her passion - and at the end of the day – to have earned enough to pay for her habit along the way!