Mum wins 62-mile ultramarathon while breast pumping: ‘Amazing what your body can do’
A mum has run a 62-mile (100km) ultramarathon while breast pumping – and won.
Sophie Carter, 43, didn’t want her eight-month-old son to go without breast milk while she took part in the race last month, so she decided to express milk for him while running.
It took the mum-of-five just nine hours, 50 minutes and 25 seconds to complete the Race to the Stones from Lewknor to Avebury, UK, and she crossed the finish line in first place.
Read more: The affordable breast pump that changed the breastfeeding game for me (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
"When I was running pregnant, I felt like my body was being nourished and fed well because it was growing the baby," Carter, who has been running marathons since 2005, said.
"Running while breastfeeding felt harder, ironically, because I was giving my resources to feed my baby. I had to drink a lot more and be more conscious of hydrating.
"With a new baby, you're getting a lot less sleep because you're up at night feeding, and that made it harder too."
Carter used the hands-free Elvie Pump to express while she ran, and says it didn’t get in the way of her run like a manual pump would have. She then handed the milk to her partner at intervals during the race.
"I did originally think that I wouldn't be able to run the race while breastfeeding – that it was too far. If I'd had to stop and feed, I wasn't sure how it was going to work," she adds.
"Then I saw the pump and I was like, 'Oh, that looks great.' It just attaches and you press a button and it does its thing.
"I think it maybe affected my speed a bit, just with having the pump on and passing the milk over."
Read more: Breastfeeding tips real mums wish they had known before becoming a parent - Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read
Carter, who lives in Oxford, adds that on the day of the race, she managed to get into the right headspace and that it ‘helped’ knowing that her baby would still be getting milk.
"I knew that I was fit and I had trained for the event, but you kind of still doubt yourself thinking, 'Oh, well, I don't know what's gonna happen’," she says.
"I fed Teddy with my breast at the finish line as well. It's just amazing what your body can do."
Carter has shared her experience with a researcher in a bid to help other people - and show that it won't hinder anyone breastfeeding from running long distances if they want to.
"I haven't had any criticism for running while expressing. Everyone has just been like, 'Wow, that's amazing. I don't know how you did it’," she says.
"I contacted a professor doing research in the area, as it's quite important for women to know what is and isn't possible.
"I've shown that even if you want to go out and do just a 5K or a half marathon, you're not going to be hindered whatsoever if you've got a baby to feed or you're pregnant."
Additional reporting by Caters.
