Spring into Summer, Fall into Winter - Margie Freed

Posted December 4, 2025

Spring into Summer, Fall into Winter (and sometimes, into the bushes)

by Margie Freed

To be honest, if you only looked at my Instagram (@margiefreed), you might think being a professional athlete is 10% hard work and 90% drinking coffee in scenic locations. While I do get to travel to cool places, the reality involves a lot more sweat and a lot less glamour. This training season, I wanted to strike a balance. To me, that meant grinding when I needed to, but also prioritizing fun because if I can’t laugh while gasping for air, am I even doing it right? I have found that leaning on friends both in and out of the sport was the secret ingredient to keeping the training lifestyle joyful.

Sunscreen in sunny Bend!

Starting the season in May meant getting back into distance training and remembering how to shoot. I bought a gravel bike and spent my mornings ripping around Vermont roads, followed by hours on the range staring at a black dot. That much focus was mentally exhausting, but it was the only way to build the stamina and precision I needed. I also spent a couple of weeks in Bend, OR along with half the nordic ski world to dial in technique. This year’s focus: bent ankles and being comfortable on one ski (aka trying not to topple over).

Pretty views in Vermont!

In June, the US Biathlon team endured our annual treadmill testing. If you follow the team, you’ve probably seen the footage. It involves skiing on a treadmill until your body can’t breathe while getting lactate levels tested periodically. It’s Type 2 fun at its finest, but essential for tailoring our training. Apart from skiing, I also learned some very important adult skills, like changing the oil in my car. It is still running just fine which seems like success to me.

Taking a break with teammates.

July and August were a blast, the definition of "train hard, play hard." I attended two weddings and traveled back to the ‘homeland’ of Minnesota. It was great to see family and friends, and I even got to pretend I was a coach for a day by leading a clinic for my high school ski team.

The commute to practice with rollerskis and rifle (And my fresh gravel bike!)

By September, I was riding the high of a great summer. I finally visited Portland, ME (a long-time item on my East Coast bucket list) before flying out to Utah to prepare for the US Biathlon International Trials. Training was going well, so I kept my head down and tried to acclimate to the thin air.

October foliage

Early October was consumed by the trials at Soldier Hollow. Yes, we know it looks ridiculous to hold ‘ski trials’ on asphalt with rollerskis, but until they invent portable snowstorms, it’s the best we’ve got. The races went well and I qualified, but they also left me with a grocery list of things to work on. I spent the rest of the fall fine-tuning my shooting, doing speed workouts, and trying to make my transitions better than they have ever been.

Wow, the training year really flew by! November has wrapped up, and the racing season has officially begun. I am currently racing on the Biathlon World Cup circuit, but in this sport, things change fast. Who knows where I’ll be in a month? Hopefully fast, definitely cold.

For now, you can follow the results and maybe even see me do something cool at biathlonworld.com.