Margaret Jones

Marmick.1

Margaret Jones approaches her running the same way she does most everything else in her life, with intensity and dedication.

Just like so many other East Nastys, Margaret was born and raised right here in middle Tennessee. She  grew up racing, but not the kind she does now. Back in the day Margaret focused on the equestrian life. Her days consisted of going to school, going horseback riding, and then, if time permitted, doing her school work. Her life revolved around horses so much that she even drove around in a Ford F-150, just to give herself that badass cowgirl image.  She attended Harpeth Hall, which she says did a great job of preparing her for college, even though the all girl environment could be a bit of a drama-rama.

For college Margaret decided to get out of Nashville and head to sunny Miami, Florida. She chose her collegiate destination not by going on a campus visit like most of us did, but rather by looking at a brochure and watching an extremely outdated promo video made in the 80’s. Margaret claims that the brochure pictures of the new facilities and palm tree laden campus helped her make up her mind. At school she focused in Advertising, and during one summer she even worked at Disney’s Epcot. Yes, she was there during Miami’s loss to Ohio State during the 2003 Tostitos Bowl (which despite what Margaret will tell you, was awesome!), and yes she lived through a couple of hurricanes.  Margaret claims that hurricanes just give the students of the University of Miami a great reason to party, as long as it is under a Category 5 level.

A year out of school, and one year working professionally as an advertising coordinator, she returned to Nashvegas to work for the Buntin advertising firm. There she worked on such campaigns as Blue Cross Blue Shield, TVA, and Davidoff Cigarettes, which is the first “Luxury” cigarette. Over the past year Margaret left the advertising world for the sweet life of “Fitlosophy” at Fleet Feet in Brentwood, and started graduate school at Owen Business School at Vanderbilt, where she is pursuing and MBA with a focus on Health Care.

Throughout her life, running has always been Margaret’s preferred form of exercise, but it was never anything serious.  In 2007 she decided to train with her high school friend for the Country Music Half Marathon, and from that moment Margaret was hooked. Since then she has run over 37 races so far (some of which she placed in), and her future goals in running are to complete a sub-20 minute 5K and finishing a half marathon in under 1:30:00. Even though a recent elbow injury and graduate school studies have caused her to take a small break from running all the time, she is looking forward to the next Speed Session training, Wednesday night runs, and the upcoming Bourbon Chase run in Kentucky.

On a personal note, Margaret is one of my favorite people to run with. Not only can you discuss things like movies, music and books mid-run, but she will also yell at you if you start slowing down to walk.

Rod Jones

Postscript: Keep your eyes peeled next week for Annie Parson’s triumphant return to the E.N.O.W. blog!