Careth Arnold, Trail Runner

Q: How has being a mom inspired you to push harder and go further in your running career?

I have more to prove to myself as a mother, and I like that. I was just beginning to run distance when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter and I was very focused to continue my running journey postpartum which I believe made me a much stronger and ambitious competitor.

Q: How do you balance running, training, and racing with being a mom? What tips do you have?

Being a mother makes training logistics much more challenging. I have very narrow windows in which I can get my training in and have to take it regardless of the weather or how tired I am. Indoor cardio trainers have allowed me to get my workouts in when I’m solo parenting and without childcare.

While racing, especially while I was breastfeeding, I would run as hard as I could because I knew my daughter missed me and I missed her.

Q: What lessons are you teaching your kids to navigate the roads and trails of life?

My hope is that my children learn from example that they too are capable to complete their goals and overcome challenges with discipline, focus, and passion.

Q: What is your favorite way to spend time with your kids when you are not running or training?

I try best to be present with my daughter, to give her my attention and engage with things that interest her while I’m not training, working, or completing motherly duties. Multitasking while I’m with her is discouraging for us both, so I set aside set windows of “us time” and it’s enjoyable.

Jacky Hunt-Broersma, Marathon Runner

Q: How has being a mom inspired you to push harder and go further in your running career?

I know my kids watch everything I do and I push harder for them.

Q: How do you balance running, training, and racing with being a mom? What tips do you have?

It's definitely challenging getting the balance right. I try and fit in most of my training when the kids are at school or early in the morning before they go to school because evenings are busy with homework, making dinner, etc. When I'm not training then I make sure we spend quality time together as a family and we make time for a regular family game night. My kids love that.

Q: What is your favorite way to spend time with your kids when you are not running or training?

Doing fun activities together as a family. We go for hikes, we play board games, and we hang in our backyard and listen to music.

Kara Goucher, Former Olympian

Q: How has being a mom inspired you to push harder and go further in your running career?

Becoming a mom helped me to go further in my running career. It helped me to see that there was more to life than running and that helped me to push hard when training but also allowed me to leave the bad days behind. It inspired me to keep going, to show Colt that there were passions worth working toward.

Q: How do you balance running, training, and racing with being a mom? What tips do you have?

There is no balance. When I was prepping for an important competition, I didn’t spend as much time at Colt’s events or hanging with him during the day. When the race was over, I would spend as much time with him as possible. Balance is a myth; there is always give and take. But it allows your children to see that mom has dreams she is chasing, but that she will always come back to you.

Q: What lessons are you teaching your kids to navigate the roads and trails of life?

Having Colt see me miss my 3rd Olympic team was an important lesson. Sometimes you can do everything right and still not achieve the dream you had. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth trying for. I’m glad Colt got to see me succeed but also lose. Life is tricky and there are always ups and downs.

Q: What is your favorite way to spend time with your kids when you are not running or training?

I love being in Colt’s world. I like letting him set the path. Whether it’s playing Monopoly or watching him at track meet, I love letting him know I care about his interests and passions too.

Amanda Basham, Trail Runner

Q: How has being a mom inspired you to push harder and go further in your running career?

Being a mom has made me a better runner in so many ways. I’ve learned to let go of the little things and adapt to the uncertainty of the day. So much of ultra running is about being able to push through hard times and work through situations you didn’t plan, so I’m pretty convinced the sport was made for moms!

Q: How do you balance running, training, and racing with being a mom? What tips do you have?

First of all, I let go of mom guilt a long time ago. I think that’s a pretty common thing moms have, and I also noticed after having kids. Running, training, and racing shouldn’t make you feel guilty. For me, it makes me a much better mom to be able to continue doing the things I love and that make me who I am.

I also don’t try to achieve balance daily. I look at it as more of a whole with one thing being more of a focus at a time. So when I’m in a big phase of training then family activities are more limited. Then when I’m recovering or further out from a race then more family time becomes the top priority. Overall, life feels very balanced that way.

Q: What lessons are you teaching your kids to navigate the roads and trails of life?

There is a lot of failure in running, especially the bigger your goals get. I want my kids to see that it can take a lot of failure to achieve something great, and you just have to get back up and keep trying.

Q: What is your favorite way to spend time with your kids when you are not running or training?

Our kids are pretty little, so I think they love the playground more than anything! Swinging and seeing other kids seems to be the favorite. We often go to our favorite cafe for pastries and head to the playground in town. It’s also an easy way for me to get them out of the house by myself when I’m solo parenting.

Alysia Montaño, Olympic Runner

Q: How has being a mom inspired you to push harder and go further in your running career?

Being a mom just inspires me to really show my kids that life is worth living in your truest, free-est sense. For me, it means never letting anyone else be the dictator of how I believe in myself. It goes beyond pushing harder and going further; it is just about staying true to YOU and finding JOY in that. As mothers, we are always expected to DO MORE. We have historically been over-worked and underpaid for our efforts.

For me, being a mom inspires me to fight for my ability to live my life happy and true. In that same sense, being a mom reminds me to enjoy every minute I can run and that I deserve to feel this happy and free. Running has given me an avenue to discover more about the world and myself and how I show up for my community. It helps me stay grounded and remember the reason I toe the line in the first place, enjoy the process, and helps me fight for the finish line in different aspects of my life. To me, running and motherhood go together. They both give me an opportunity to experience life with all my senses and I am better with both.

Q: How do you balance running, training, and racing with being a mom? What tips do you have?

I focus on the good feelings I get when I am at my best. I focus on what my priorities are for that week; for me, movement is a non-negotiable and so is being there for my family. I set up my calendar in a way that I can see the workout days, easy run days, individual kid dates, big project deadlines, my big goal dates, race dates, travel, ideal vacation time, big kid moments, and husband dates.

Tips: If you get overwhelmed, think of what part makes you most overwhelmed. For me, creating a big picture view helps me not get overwhelmed. I also find space to breathe when I can see what is doable while keeping me emotionally available for the things I enjoy and for my family.

Another tip that is hard, is learning to say “NO” to requests that really overwhelm you. Is it last minute? Is it the nature of the beast? Ask yourself: Will it affect my family or my well-being?

I used to feel like if I didn’t say “YES” to every single request from well-meaning folks, I was letting them down; that I needed to figure out how to make myself available. But in the end, I was really letting myself down and often left feeling overwhelmed, depleted, and unable to show up the way I wanted to for myself, my running, and my family. It’s ok to say no, and I want my kids to know that.

“No” isn’t bad. It means you care for yourself and really the other parties too, because you wouldn’t be able to show up as your best.

Q: What lessons are you teaching your kids to navigate the roads and trails of life?

TI love to help my kids tap into their senses: what they feel, what they see, and what they hear, when we are out adventuring. When my kiddos have an experience that is more tough to navigate, I can easily help them tap into understanding that some valleys are going to dip down hard and feel a bit more difficult to climb up and bring them back to a time when they were out exploring. I help them recognize the strength they found to climb up and out and that on the other side there were so many more things that were great.

It helps them navigate the ebbs and flows of the roads and trails of life. It helps them self-regulate, remembering the different senses they experienced when they literally experienced a physically tough or great time that they can use as a tool when they experience life’s roads and trails. Some will be bumpy, some will be smooth, some have steep ups, some have steep downs, but in the end, you can tackle it and come out on the other side. And if it was really really hard… REST; take as much time as you need so you can get back up and get after it again.

Q: What is your favorite way to spend time with your kids when you are not running or training?

Our family is keen on outdoor adventures. We love grabbing our bikes and exploring, getting creative with things found in nature, and letting our imaginations run wild! It is the best when I get to see the world through the lens of my kiddos. I love to slow down and watch them explore and experience the joy of all the things they discover.