Margaret Keyes Groos (born September 21, 1959) is a retired long-distance runner from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Groos was born and raised in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, where she graduated from

Harpeth Hall School Harpeth Hall School is a private, college-preparatory school for girls in Green Hills, Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Its beginning dates back to 1865 as a seminary for young ladies. After various mergers and name changes, the antecedent s ...

in 1977. As a ninth grader, she set the national record for the 880 yard run (2:10.06). As a senior, she set a state record in the 1600 meters (4:45.44) that wasn't broken for 40 years. Overall, she won state championships in the 880 yard and the mile run three times, each, while being part of a state champion mile relay and twice being part of Harpeth Hall's state championship team (and being part of their runner-up team another year). She was recruited to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

. In 1981, she set a world indoor record for the 5000 meter run. Groos competed in the marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, and was an alternate for the 1984 Olympic Games. She twice won the

Pittsburgh Marathon The Pittsburgh Marathon (also known as Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual road marathon usually held on the first Sunday in May in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States, first held in 1 ...

, including in 1988, when she ran her personal best (2:29:50).

Personal

Groos is married to Paul Sloan. They have two children. Their daughter, Emma, won the Tennessee state cross country championship in 2014 (18:36.25); earlier in high school, she'd finished 4th, 3rd, and then 2nd in the state championships.

Achievements

*All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise On February 20, 1981, at Blacksburg VA Groos set a world indoor record for 5000 meters. Her time was 15:34.5.

References

External links

* 1959 births Living people Sportspeople from Nashville, Tennessee Track and field athletes from Tennessee American female long-distance runners American female marathon runners American female cross country runners Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics 21st-century American women {{US-longdistance-athletics-bio-stub