In 2018, a photograph of ultrarunner Sophie Power breastfeeding her three-month-old son at the 106-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) went viral. Power quickly became a voice for mothers determined to follow their dreams, running and otherwise: not only had she completed one of the world's toughest races three months after giving birth, but she'd done so while breastfeeding, stopping at aid stations to feed her son and express milk.
Now, as she recovers from the birth of her third child, Power is sharing the highs and lows of her post-pregnancy running in a 20-minute documentary made in association with running brand Hoka.
Speaking on the Runner's World podcast, Power said, 'I came up with the idea of documenting my end-of-pregnancy running and return to fitness, partly because there is so little information out there and I knew that I'd struggled before. After my first pregnancy, I couldn't run for three months because my pelvic floor was shot, and after my second pregnancy, I ran UTMB at three months postpartum, so it was two very different stories and I thought, let's see if we can try and show what happens and break down some of these barriers.'
Power says being able to continue training during lockdown was a huge relief. 'I was really lucky that I was able to run until the day my waters broke' she told RW. 'Then I switched to hiking on the treadmill for some of my harder miles – I think as runners, we think, "I'm a runner, so I've got to run," but you can have an amazing workout hiking at an incline.'
running in his third RW Challenge with his wife that photograph, Power said, 'I realised pretty quickly this isn't an ultrarunning story, this isn't a running story, this is about what women can do after childbirth and that with the right support, we can still achieve our goals. Many women give up their goals because being a new mum is so difficult and there's so much pressure in society to put our family first, but, actually, when we put our own health first and we're stronger as women, we can be stronger for our families and be much better role models. Now I have a daughter, so it's so important to me to show her that I'm active and I'm fit and I'm setting myself goals and achieving them.
'We want to see more women on the start line and it's great that we're seeing more images of pregnant women and women with children exercising, but we still don't speak about the fact that one in three women leak after having a baby, more than half of runners do and we need to give them that support to run again and to run again safely.'
Listen to Sophie on the Runner's World Podcast here.
Watch the full documentary below:
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