WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – When dawn breaks Saturday over Orlando, Fla., 175 elite women will vie for a coveted spot on the U.S. Olympics team.
Among them is Wilmington’s Ann Marie Pierce. Demure, with a high-pitched voice that invites a smile, at first impression it might not seem that this 31-year-old is one of the best athletes in the United States. But a careful look at her high cheekbones and the veins crisscrossing the back of her hands tells the story of thousands of miles run to prepare for this day.
To say that Pierce is a busy mom would be a gross understatement. Unlike many of the women that she will be competing against, Pierce doesn’t have a full-time massage therapist or a sports agent or any big-time endorsement deals. In fact, you’re more likely to see her grabbing a bowl in front of you in line at Cava than you would be to see her on TV promoting new shoes. Most Wilmington moms would have an easy time relating to Pierce as she balances being a mom to Remy (2) and Flynn (4) with coaching youth athletes, running an Airbnb, and taking photos full-time for her company Pierce Productions.
Some of those athletes from the Without Limits Trailblazers Youth Running Team, a program founded by Pierce herself, sing praises of their coach’s impact.
“She just made me fall in love with the sport of running,” shared Chloe Davis, echoing the sentiments of her teammate Emma Rogers, who admires Pierce’s perpetual positivity and uplifting demeanor, “you’ll never see her sad or upset.”
Acknowledging the magnitude of the Olympic Trials, Pierce reflected, “I’ve never been in a competition of this magnitude.”
But she has raced plenty. Pierce ran competitively in college at Grand Valley State University and Western Michigan University. It was at Western Michigan that she met her husband, Dylan.
“When she commits to something, it’s going to be done,” Dylan attested to her fiery attitude, particularly when it came to getting into the Trials in the first place.
To get to the Olympic Trials, Pierce encountered a dilemma. During the 2020 Olympic cycle, her coach Tom Clifford, founder of the Wilmington-based Without Limits training program, had helped three of her teammates make the Trials in Atlanta. Clifford says there is no doubt Ann Marie would have been ready then, except she was pregnant with her first son. The standard in 2020 was 2:45:00, and over 350 women in the United States made the cut.
Then, in 2022 the USA Track and Field Association announced it was dropping the standard to 2:37:00. That meant that if Pierce was to make the Olympic Trials, she would have to run eight minutes faster than she ever had before.
“My father passed away in 2021, from pancreatic cancer, and he was a huge part of my running journey,” she said. “I ran a marathon in his honor a week after his passing, seven weeks pregnant with my second son (2:45:10). He always reminded me not to ‘sacrifice the gift.’ Though neither of my parents were not runners, they attended many of my events and I am grateful for the support they shared with me.”
Pierce and Coach Tom Clifford eyed the Houston Marathon in January of 2023 as the place to hit the standard. Known for its flat course and beautiful January weather, it was the location most likely to help Pierce cut 8 minutes off of her personal best and qualify for the Olympic Trials.
“I came up short,” Pierce remembered She missed the mark by 43 seconds. “I knew I had to try again.”
Six weeks later at the Wilmington Marathon, Anne Marie Pierce toed the line with laser focus she paced off the men’s leader, training partner Hugh Crews, and set out to make the mark in front of a Wilmington crowd who knew who she was and what she was trying to do – 2:36:22. She made it by 48 seconds.
“I made it because of the atmosphere,” she reflected, “Like even going back almost brings me to tears because I didn’t know those people, a lot of them on the sidelines, but they were all cheering. And that’s just kind of like what running’s all about. You know, you support each other no matter if you’re the first one or the last one. Everyone’s doing this thing and they’ve got their stories to share so we can inspire one another.”
Clifford, recognizing Pierce’s spirit, observed, “Everything that we give her is going to try to be exceeded.”
While celebrating her ambition, Clifford emphasized the importance of maintaining balance to avoid overexertion, “that’s a great trait in a human. But that’s where I come in and say, let’s put the brakes on for a little while, you know, for certain things.”
While getting to the Trials might be award enough, no surprise, that Pierce has higher goals than merely finishing.
“Number one, a goal would be to be top 50 in the United States,” Pierce listed. “Then to PR, and finally to finish and be proud of the effort, that I can represent and those people that support me that make this possible.
”I hope that translates to the kids that I coach, that you don’t have to give up on your dreams. There are things that just don’t go your way, but if you really love something, you’re going to stick with it.”
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