When Carrie Miller and I first met Maggie Berens, she was a 19-year old sophomore at St. Norbert College. In a pre-OnPace life, Carrie and I both played college tennis and then for 16 years coached it and that's how we came to meet Maggie. Mags didn't say too much for those first couple days of tryouts, minding her P's and Q's and working her tail off. When I called her to tell her she made the team, she wanted to hang up on me so fast - like as soon as she heard the news - so she could call her Mom, Molly, and share that she was a Green Knight. The woman is one of 12 kids - YES, 12 - and Mags love for her family and by her family is something Carrie and I always looked up to. Anyway, she was a joy to work with for those three years on the tennis team. If you ever see pics of our kids on here, it'll date how long ago it was as the little man in the team picture that Maria Ann is holding is not Miles, our youngest, but Aaron (our middle child, now 8.75 years) at about four months old. Just to honor the entire 2011 team appropriately, Ariel, Nancy, Laura, Britty, etc are all pictured (TY, I'll tag them all after you post) - and it was one of our most fun teams ever. So, why the Marge for this podcast? So many reasons, really. First, Marge lives in Milwaukee! Which is darn close to Kenosha, Wisconsin, home to the Wisconsin Marathon where we will all be "running" this weekend. I asked Peg for some guidance on a local business that might be able to benefit from some help from OnPace given the CoVid situation we're in and she quickly came up with Chet Andrew Grant and Melissa Doring's business Nutrition Revolution. Beyond that - and other than we tried to convince Peg to not leave Green Bay after she graduated in 2014 but rather stick around and help us as coaches - Maggie's energy is infectious. About six months ago, Carrie told me, "You know who would be a great pacer? Maggie Berens." I kinda bristled a little! If you listen to the podcast, you'll hear why. At one point, I may have challenged Marge, who was bringing up the rear on a team two-mile warm up run, by saying she SOUNDED (not looked like) an overweight beagle. With that still this many years later in my memory banks, I wondered how she would do with 13.1 miles. Well, Carrie and OnPace Coaching took Maggie under their wings, and less than six months later, she is a half marathoner finishing the Milwaukee Marathon (virtually) in 2:13 last month. She's got more racing to do and, eventually, pacing. As we "travel" from city to city in this Series, we want to try and get as close to where we wish we were running as possible. So, if you're up for a podcast, or know a business that needs a little boost in this tough time, send me a message. We're all connected through running. Sometimes, the path to connect wasn't originated by miles and miles on our Saucony's. Sometimes, it was through Oshkosh, or in this case, yellow fuzzy balls. As we continue to grow On Pace, it's awesome to look back and see how all these people have come to know each other, from all places and walks of life. #onpace #happypacehappyrace #happyspacevirtualrace
