Train for Detroit Free Press Marathon while raising a family? These moms are doing it.
Ahh, the joys of motherhood.
The joy of aching for nine months, then giving birth. The joy of waking to a bawling child, then changing diapers. But there's special joy, for some, of going for a 10-mile run after turning to dad and saying, "She's still asleep. You got this!"
On Mother's Day, as we salute all moms, the Free Press is giving a special shout-out to marathon moms, hardy women training long miles for the big 26.2-mile race this fall in Detroit ... all while mothering young ones. Two of their secrets? Cooperative husbands and strollers made for jogging.
'Life is training'
When Jessie Stewart, 39, of Oakland, California wants a thrilling workout that mixes aerobic challenge with kid time, she loads her double-wide stroller with son Jack, who turned 1 earlier this month, and daughter Avi Mae, 3. Stewart, who grew up in Kalamazoo, will turn 40 before the Free Press event, putting her into the 40-and-up Master's category. Stewart just might win it, as she aims to run under a blistering 2 hours, 50 minutes. But motherhood is just as important to her, so she squeezes in workouts that include the kids.
"I run them up to day care every day. It's 3 miles there and 3 miles back. I'm not training as much as I would without kids. But I realized, you don't have to run every day. Before I had kids, I was very dedicated to training. Now I realize, just life is training," Stewart says with a laugh.
She also runs by herself or with close friends, when husband, Brian Gillis, watches their children. They both like the vigor of heart-pounding runs, and both like getting away from the family briefly to be with friends.
"I feel super lucky because both of us prioritize this," Stewart says.
It's a lot to balance
Likewise, 32-year-old Hope Hill often stows 3-year-old son Bowen and 1-year-old Margot in a side-by-side jogger's stroller or, singly, in a solo stroller. The extra resistance builds stronger leg muscles, adding to Hill's speed when she runs without the kids. She's often out as early as 5:30 a.m., while husband, Wesley Hill, holds down the family fort in Austin, Texas. For Hill, and other speedsters who have entered this year's Detroit Free Press Marathon, running and motherhood go together like, well, cookies and milk. Or naps and a blankie.
"I'm still nursing my 1-year-old, and I still have all these hormones going through my body, so running is just such a great way to get away from family stuff for a little while," Hills says, adding: "It's something I do to care for me, apart from all I do caring for others."
Hill and other moms who marathon-train say that any mother, at any level of fitness, will benefit by getting active as soon after childbirth as she feels ready. Listen to your doctor, they say, but listen to your body, too. They're quick to admit there's a lot to balance: motherhood while keeping a job, keeping house, keeping a significant other and running 65 or more miles a week. But they say they love it — and feel good doing it.
'Training looks a lot different'
Like most of the runners, both men and women, in the Free Press marathon's new Elite Division, Chelsea Hall, 33, of New Albany, Ohio, will be a first-timer at Detroit's big race. Hall says at first it wasn't obvious that she could blend world-class athletics with motherhood.
"After I had my first child, I definitely doubted my ability to go back to racing — with a child, my job, my whole life. And he didn't sleep through the night for a year. I started running again but not serious training.
"Then, after I had my daughter, I started thinking, 'I really want to run another marathon.' I wanted to show my kids, if you apply yourself, you can achieve your goals," Hall says. Now, she's finding benefits to her mental as well as physical health, as she squeezes training runs in between caring for her son Owen, 3, and daughter Emerson, 18 months. That means hitting the hay early and, Ben Franklin-style, getting up early.
"I'll get up at 4:45, and I carry my phone, and I don't get too far from home. I vary it, sometimes 45 minutes, sometimes 90. Training looks a lot different than it was prior to kids, but I feel you need to fill your cup so you can pass it out to help your family," Hall says. Once a week, she tackles a long run of 20 miles while husband, Ian Hall, puts in some quality "dad time," she says.
"Running is my mental break," but even moms who just walk are bound to unwind stress, Hall says.
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Listen to your body clock — and your baby
Cynthia Holderer has yet to run with her child, 10-week-old Max. But she has run with child. Holderer, 30, of Austin, Texas, says she was 19 weeks pregnant when she ran the Chicago marathon in October.
"I wasn't really showing yet. I was feeling pretty good. It was a beautiful day. After that, I stopped doing as many miles," she says. Yet, soon after giving birth she was back on the road again, aiming for her sixth marathon when she arrives in Detroit this fall. Holderer hopes that Detroit's fast, mostly flat course will help her beat her already screaming personal record of 2:46:28, set in Berlin in 2022. That's about 6 minutes and 20 seconds per mile, for every one of the marathon's 26.2 miles.
To fit exercise into motherhood, Holderer advises: Listen to your body clock but listen also to your baby. Her infant is a peaceful morning sleeper, while her mom is a wide-awake "morning person." So Holderer likes dashing off at 6 a.m. while her husband sacks out near their bambino. Sometimes, he's even awake — dad, that is.
"I couldn't do it without his support," Max's mom insists. After giving birth, Holderer recommends building up mileage gradually, stretching often, and tossing in some easy cycling. At just nine weeks after Max arrived, her body said go. So she knocked out a respectable 10-miler about a week ago.
"I know I'm a much better person and a much better mom when I get some away time. If you enjoy working out, go back to it and make it a priority," she says, contradicting centuries of male medical advice that women shouldn't be active after childbirth.
'Hey, this can be healthy for me'
The marathon is, indeed, magnificent in scope. It's just plain long. Then we have the half marathon, a chic distance that has its own righteous fandom. Take Becki Spellman, 40, of Hilliard, Ohio, near Columbus. The 13.1-mile half-marathon distance is an ideal challenge for hordes of women, and men, who are ready for something more stirring, but also more relaxing, than a 10K, says Spellman. She's a coach as well as a competitive half 'thoner. She'll be racing in the Detroit Free Press' International Half Marathon in October.
"Just more and more women have poured into the sport," many of them finding that half marathons are the perfect challenge, even after motherhood, Spellman says.
"It’s just amazing seeing women becoming moms and sticking with it. They come out of college and you think they’d drop running but they don’t. Women are so much stronger now, and so much more supported even after having children," Spellman says.
"It’s amazing as a coach to see it. I primarily coach women. They’re finding, 'Hey, this can be healthy for me.' I find it's good for mental health purposes, especially for moms who need time for themselves," Spellman says. She's the mother of 9-year-old twins, Nolan and Corra. They stay home with husband, Ryan Spellman, while she trains.
"I think my kids figure that all people run. They just think it's normal. My daughter asked me the other day, 'Are you pretty good at running?' and I said, 'Yeah, I’m pretty good. I qualified for four Olympic trials.' I think she kinda got it, like, 'Oh, so, you were in something that was pretty select.' But I didn’t explain it. I didn’t say I was in the top 100 for 16 years," Spellman says, with a knowing chuckle.
In the international rules of marathoning, the masters category starts at age 40. So, Spellman will run in the masters category of the international half marathon on Oct. 20. In 2022, she placed second in the full marathon in Detroit.
“My brother lives in Bloomfield Hills, so it's a good excuse for us to come to Detroit. It’s a fun weekend for us," Spellman says.
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Strong turnout for Elite Division
The marathon's coordinator of the new Elite Division, Zach Ornelas, of Ann Arbor, says turnout has been strong.
"We’re already at 94 applicants for the 100 slots, and we expect to fill those this month," Ornelas says. He's delighted to have world-class women in the field, including a surprising number of young moms. Ornelas ran in February in the Olympic trials in Orlando and he has two children under age 4. Still, he says, "I didn’t have to give birth. I just lost sleep."
One thing should be clear, especially on this Mother's Day: Those marathon moms coming to Detroit will have a unique perspective, a brand of fortitude that no one else will quite understand.
As Ornelas puts it, "If you’ve gone through childbirth, and then months of losing sleep, some of them say the marathon really isn’t so hard."
The 2024 Detroit Free Press Marathon presented by MSU Federal Credit Union will be held Oct. 18-20 in downtown Detroit.
Note: Women who wish to run or do other vigorous exercise during pregnancy or soon after childbirth should consult with their doctors. A key concern during pregnancy is to avoid overheating the fetus, so experts advise against undertaking vigorous activity in warm temperatures.
Contact Bill Laytner: blaitner@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Free Press Marathon draws fast 'elite' moms to race this fall
