DECISION TIME: Running PR or Another Baby??

Miles with Moms

In this episode, your Miles with Moms hosts discuss weighing the decision many mother runners face: should they train for a running PR or expand their family? It is a tough decision with many emotions (and opinions!). But the truth is, there can be a ticking clock on both--and sometimes the clock is ticking at the same time and you have to decide! We discussed how we decided whether to have another baby or pursue our running goals. We also give a shout-out to our new mother runner of the week, Bailey Raemakers, and have a "ventilator session" -- definitely worth sticking around for (it involves tattoos and the holidays!).

About your hosts:

• Whitney Heins is a mom of 2 kids, a VDOT-certified running coach for moms who run, and founder of the resource, themotherrunners.com. Coming out of a 5-year injury cycle which included a 2:54 marathon and 1:20 half marathon, she is training to run faster as a master’s athlete. IG: @themotherrunners.
• Shanna Birchett is a mom of 6 kids under 8, including twins. She returned to running in 2021 after an 11-year break, running most recently a 2:44 marathon in the summer of 2024. She is the co-founder of Endure 365 running, endure365.com, which offers heart rate-based training plans. IG: @motherhood_running.
• Tricia DeNardis is a mom to 3 young kids and a physical therapist specializing in the pelvic floor, pregnancy and postpartum rehabilitation. After running 10 marathons, Tricia completed her first 50k in the fall of 2024, and is now hooked! IG: @burpeesandburpcloths.
• Olivia Garcia is a mom of 2 young kids, who used to work as a paramedic. She fell in love with running in 2019, despite surviving a marathon that didn’t go according to plan. With a 2:57 PR, she's cut more than an hour off her marathon time. IG: ...