Maggie Swanson, Author at 25 Meters

IRONMAN Kona

I had the opportunity to compete in the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, on October 14th, when I won the IRONMAN Madison in September 2022. After a year of training, I started the 2023 season by tearing my Achilles tendon on mile 10 of IRONMAN Chattanooga 70.3 in May. After canceling my other races for the 2023 season, I focused on rehabbing my Achilles. During the summer, I relied on the help of God, great medical help (thank you, Dr. Mike Anderson at Summit Orthopedics and Andrew Moran at Odom Health and Wellness!), and a lot of family support. With six weeks until race time, I decided to tackle what is arguably the most challenging IRONMAN course. Racing any IRONMAN is intense, but IRONMAN Kona is a heightened intensity. SWIM – Time: 1:04:39 As someone who doesn’t love open-water swimming or mass starts, I was most nervous about this

By Maggie Swanson|2023-10-23T13:12:58-05:00October 23rd, 2023|

Baby Steps

Last Sunday, our pastor taught us to share the good news of God’s work to encourage others and display God’s power. Well, I have an awesome update! I went in for another surgical follow-up two weeks ago. At that appointment, Dr. Mike commented that my walk was much smoother than the appointment before. After running me through some tests, he asked me if I could do a single-leg toe raise on my injured left side. He was amazed when I quickly did that and enthusiastically cleared me to begin “sport-specific therapy.” My physical therapist, Andrew, at Odom Health and Wellness, created a program for me to start running the day after my appointment. Andrew has consistently told me, “If you feel pain, STOP.” It’s a fine line between discomfort and pain! Discomfort is natural after an injury like this. My left leg doesn’t feel like my right because it’s relearning

By Maggie Swanson|2023-08-30T15:29:29-05:00August 30th, 2023|

Achilles Progress Report

Hi, everyone – this post comes from Maggie, here to update you on my Achilles surgery, recovery, and rehab. Last you heard, I tore my Achilles 68 miles into my Ironman 70.3 race in Chattanooga. I went in for a successful Achilles surgery on June 2nd. The surgery went as well as it could have, and I was on the road to recovery. I went through the grieving process during the first weeks of my surgery. Much of this process was sadness, confusion (and, frankly, anger!) – why was God allowing this to happen when I spent a year training so hard? I know He loves me, and I’ve seen Him work all things for good with more severe injuries than this. But haven’t I had enough injuries?! Why this? Why now? I had my plans, but God had different ones. A friend reminded me that “the heart of man

By Maggie Swanson|2023-08-04T11:15:10-05:00August 4th, 2023|

A Setback

Where we've been The last we updated you on Maggie's triathlon journey, she had won the female amateur division of IRONMAN Wisconsin last September. Since then, she'd been training hard getting ready for the 2023 season, preparing for the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, this coming October. Half Ironman in Chattanooga, TN Maggie's first race of the 2023 season was a Half Ironman in Chattanooga, TN, on May 21st. Exactly ½ of the full Ironman distance; a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride, and 13.1-mile ½ marathon. Maggie had been having some foot issues going into the race but otherwise was in fantastic shape. She had a good swim and crushed the bike portion, averaging 22.3 MPH over the 56-mile course. Her run had really improved over the winter, and she was averaging 6 minute 30 seconds per mile through 10 miles, on pace for a 1 hour, 26-minute

By Maggie Swanson|2023-06-06T10:45:39-05:00June 6th, 2023|

Ten Podcasts!

Maggie and I have had the privilege to be guests on 10 podcasts over the last few months. We'll provide a link to all the episodes soon. Here is the link to one of the podcasts on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0AyAyGIxrJbvHC1YLRsnBJ The host of this podcast is Dr. Danny Yamashiro. Dr. Danny hosts the most listened to Christian radio show in Hawaii, the podcast The Good Life with Dr. Danny, and is the chaplain at MIT. We hope that you will be blessed by the podcast! From my family to yours, we wish you a very, Merry Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ! Tad #ironmantriathlon #ironmantri #ironmantraining #ironman #triathlonlife #triathlontraining #triathlon #ironmanmadison #traumaticbraininjury #traumaticbraininjuryawareness #traumaticbraininjurysurvivor #hitbyabus #survivor #modernmiracles #lakeminnetonka #minnesotastories #minnesotalife #minnstagramers #authorsofinstagram #fatherdaughter #25Meters #25MetersToGod #accidentrecovery #philanthropy #charities #charitywork #charityfundraiser #redemptionpress Visit our website to learn more of our story!

By Maggie Swanson|2022-12-23T11:43:21-05:00December 23rd, 2022|

Podcast! Goodreads! Reviews!

Tad was recently on the All Things podcast at Redemption Press, the publisher for 25 Meters to God. Here is a link to the episode at their website, https://redemption-press.com/25-meters-to-god-with-tad-weiss/ or you also can listen on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts! While you’re here, can you do us a BIG favor? If you’ve read the book 25 Meters to God, could you take a few minutes to write a review or mention us on Goodreads? Here are the links to Redemption Press and Amazon for reviews, and Goodreads for recommending the book. Thank you in advance for helping us spread the word! Redemption Press Website Amazon Website Goodreads Website

By Maggie Swanson|2022-09-23T14:31:47-05:00September 23rd, 2022|

You are an IRONMAN!

The 20th running of IRONMAN Wisconsin was Sunday, September 11th, in Madison. The weather couldn’t have been much worse; 55 degrees, 20 mph winds, and all-day rain! But the race goes on, and 1,300 competitors started the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run at 7:00 AM. There were more than 1,300 participants. Maggie finished FIRST among women in the amateur division. She had a phenomenal race, finishing in 10 hours and 48 minutes – even beating a handful of pros. She finished the race by running the marathon in 3 hours and 24 minutes!! By winning her age group she qualified for the IRONMAN World Championship to be held in Kona, Hawaii in October of 2023. Twenty years after his last IRONMAN, Tad had a spectacular race, too, despite the literal headwinds. He was happy with his swim, couldn’t wait to get off his bike, and ground through the

By Maggie Swanson|2022-09-14T16:33:38-05:00September 14th, 2022|

IRONMAN Wisconsin and fundraising update

Maggie and I are wrapping up our training and are officially in the “taper” stage of our race preparation. We are nine days away from IRONMAN Wisconsin! Here are two finish-line photos from 2002 for Tad and 2021 for Maggie. We are hoping to have updated photos for you on September 11th!! We’ve had a tremendous response to our fundraising efforts. Thanks to the generosity of 88 friends and family that have supported our efforts, we have raised $336,150!! After the race, we’ll split the proceeds equally between four wonderful charities. And there’s still time to give!! I’d love to see our number of donors hit 100 by race day. If you haven’t donated yet, click on the link that follows and join the team! https://ironmanfoundation.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=2872 We’re heading to Madison on Thursday and will send you updates from there. Thanks for following along, and enjoy the Labor Day Weekend! Tad

By Maggie Swanson|2022-09-02T12:59:58-05:00September 2nd, 2022|

Tad and Maggie on Carrie Tollefson’s Podcast

Hey everyone, Maggie and I just had the privilege of being on Carrie Tollefson’s podcast. Carrie is one of, if not the best runner to ever come out of Minnesota. She won 13 state titles in cross-country and track in high school, before going on to win five NCAA championships running for Villanova University. She won the 1500 meters at the US Olympic Trials in 2004, and competed in the 2004 Olympic Summer Games. Carrie and her husband Charlie have been long-time family friends. Carrie is a great ambassador for endurance sports; she stays busy running, broadcasting, hosting a summer distance camp for teens, and running her podcast. It was an honor for us to be on her show, and we hope you enjoy the episode! P.S. Less than 3 weeks until the IRONMAN! Check out our updates and fundraising progress at www.25meters.com!!

By Maggie Swanson|2022-08-22T11:05:34-05:00August 22nd, 2022|

Charity Spotlight – Engage Your Destiny

Maggie and I are raising money for our upcoming IRONMAN race on September 11th for four charitable organizations. Today we’d like to spotlight Engage Your Destiny. I encourage you to watch this 6-minute video from Ben Peterson, the founder of Engage Your Destiny. Engage Your Destiny was created in St. Louis Park, MN to bring honor, healing, and hope to our country’s military veterans. They recently held the Heroes Honor Festival at Daytona International Speedway, where 35,000 people attended, 25,000 of which were veterans or their families. The festival was designed to give a proper “Welcome Home” to our country’s Vietnam veterans, one they didn’t receive 50 years ago. Engage Your Destiny provides resources to military veterans and their families, designed to bring honor, hope and healing, leading to a world without veteran suicide. Check out their website at www.engageyourdestiny.com. And go to our website, www.25meters.com, where you can donate

By Maggie Swanson|2022-08-19T15:33:40-05:00August 19th, 2022|

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