From the YMCA.org Website: Margie has been a YMCA member for 8 years. She choose our branch because it was close to her house and offered a variety of activities. For several years, Margie was a caregiver for her husband (Drew) who passed away peacefully on December 4th, 2005. Having been active all her life, it seemed natural for her to return to an exercise routine. She trained for a week long bike trip sponsored by her church and completed the 260+ mile trip in July 2006. Soon after that, she got the idea to run a 5K. Her training went so well that instead of a 5K, she ran the 500 Mini in May 2007 and a full marathon in October 2007.

Training for a marathon in one year has been an awesome experience for Margie. It helped her gain confidence in her abilities and she is likely to see challenges differently in the future. She enjoys sharing her success with other people in part to inspire them to believe in their own abilities.

In one year, Margie went from running one mile to finishing a full marathon. She is part of the Benjamin Harrison YMCA Jingle Bell Run/WalkTeam. Margie encourages others to join the team by going to the following website: Benjamin Harrison Jingle Bell Team.

Margie credits her racing success to the Benjamin Harrison YMCA Mini Marathon training program. The Mini Marathon training is a 17-week program which will start up the first week in January and continue up the Indy 500 Mini Marathon in May. Margie also challenges others to join the Mini Marathon training team in order to prepare for the Inaugural Geist Half Marathon in 2008. Another member of ours, Lesley Stoeffler, is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Geist Half Marathon and is looking for people to be on her committee.

Outside of the YMCA, Margie works at the IU School of Medicine in the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics as a Statistician. She is a member of Oaklandon Christian Church which she has served on the Finance Committee as well as helped manage the concession stand for sporting events.

We wish Margie and entire Jingle Bell Race Team fast times and good health.

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