Navigation
Tri-Umphs (Triathlons & Duathlons)
Thriving on Life’s Challenges: Jennifer Knickerbocker
By Margie Shapiro
May/June 2011
For the Washington Running Report
The extraordinary in nature is overwhelming and awesome, but, in some ways, the extraordinary in human nature is even more amazing.
One reason we admire athletic “greats” is because they seem so much bigger, so much greater than ourselves. Sometimes the most incredible athletes are people who live next door, just as I discovered.
Jennifer Knickerbocker, 39, mother of five and a partner at accounting/consulting giant Deloitte, happens to be a neighbor of mine. Even if she weren’t, sooner or later we were bound to meet---she’s active in the local running and triathlon community, volunteers for charitable organizations like High Cloud, coaches at the local Y, and finds time to race as well.
At first glance, with her athletic physique and energetic smile, this 2010 Ironman Arizona finisher who completed the race in 14:40:42, appears to be another typical high achiever and part of an active crowd.
A closer look at Jen’s family, living in Herndon, VA, reveals something more.
Not only are she and her husband, Neil (also a triathlete) raising five sons, aged 2 to 16, but this is a multicultural family. In December 1999, with two sons at home, they adopted Benjamin from South Korea. They were told he had various disabilities, but that diagnosis has since been proven wrong. In 2001, Jen gave birth to Jacob. Two years ago they adopted Elijah from Ethiopia.
Since I thought I juggled a lot, I had to ask Jen how they manage their household when she works full-time in New York. Neil is a stay-at-home parent and Jen admitted it comes, “With difficulty . . . but with great perseverance, lots of energy, and lots of passion.”
Here are some examples of how this busy mom accomplishes her work-life balance:
“I’ll ride my bike on a trainer at a soccer game and run with the soccer team . . . listen to a conference call while I’m on the treadmill or on a trainer . . . I’ll answer e-mails or take conference calls while watching a practice or game . . . I do what we all do, get up well before dawn to get to the pool, work in a long run, or get work done so I can steal a couple of hours on a beautiful day for a bike ride.”
Now, let me throw another dimension.
Last year, she finished Ironman Arizona, despite having had heart surgery in 2006 for an atrial septal defect (ASD), basically a hole in her heart the size of a dime.
ASDs are congenital so this had caused her heart to work much harder to get enough oxygen and over time it caused significant enlargement on its right side and increased the risk of heart failure or a stroke. Jen hadn’t taken note of the symptoms, instead accepting that she wasn’t as “athletic” as others. However, nine years ago while pregnant with her son, Jacob, she thought a may have suffered a minor stroke.
“Suddenly, I couldn’t hear anything in a noisy, crowded room, I was disoriented and struggled to find words to communicate,” she recalled.
A hospital visit was inconclusive and, because she was pregnant, her doctors advised against a CAT-scan and sent her home to “watch for any recurrence.” It took several years before an annual physical revealed her “innocent murmur” might be something more. She followed up with a cardiologist who diagnosed the ASD and had a procedure where a “patch” was implanted in her heart through a catheter. The result: an immediate and significant increase in energy.
“It was amazing to me how alive and energetic I felt,” she told me. As a result, there was a drop in her active heart rate somewhere between 10-15 bpm.
As if that heart scare weren’t enough, during the flight home from Ethiopia (for Eli’s adoption), she experienced severe back pain that eventually forced her to visit a specialist who identified yet another birth defect: in her kidneys. She had to undergo robotic ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) and today has two fully functioning kidneys.
How does someone face such physical adversity, yet accomplish such amazing physical feats? Jennifer Knickerbocker says, “By the grace of God.” Her triumph over adversity reminds me to appreciate life and health, human strength, courage, and the incredible adaptability of the body and soul.
Margie Shapiro is co-owner of Potomac River Running stores where she coaches runners and triathletes through the =PR= Training Programs. A professional triathlete, she is currently on the USA Triathlon Project 2012 Team (for Olympic hopefuls) and has been a U.S. National Elite Team member (2007-08) and Elite World Championships Team Member (2007).