Woman Completes Chicago Marathon And Then Gives Birth. Showoff!

When I was nine months pregnant with my second child, one of my dearest friends in the world was getting married on the other side of the country. I loved this friend so much that when I first heard it might be difficult to find an airline to fly me, I looked into a train ride from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles. Thankfully, Virgin has no restrictions on, well, anything, and so I was able to fly with no problem. Well, I did have to get my doctor’s OK first. She gave it, however reluctantly.

And yet a direct flight to Los Angeles is nothing at all compared to what Amber Miller did when she was 9 months pregnant:

Amber Miller felt contractions just minutes after crossing the finish line at the Chicago Marathon. A few hours later, the suburban Chicago woman – who slogged her way through 26.2 miles while nearly 39 weeks pregnant – delivered a healthy baby girl.

“For me, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. I was running up until that point anyway,” Miller told The Associated Press in an interview from the hospital where she was recovering Monday. “I am crazy about running.”

Turns out it was her eighth marathon and not even the first she’d run while pregnant. She’d done one earlier in the pregnancy and another with a previous child — both around 17 weeks. Her doctor signed off on letting her run half the marathon. So she ran half and walked half.

She says she prepared for negative comments but doesn’t remember getting any.

Paula Radcliffe famously won the New York City Marathon in 2007, 10 months after giving birth. And many of my running friends continue to run while pregnant. Even though I’m not pregnant — just hoping to be — I had a chat with one of my Crossfit trainers about what to do should I get pregnant. She said you can modify each workout if you’re already into training but that you should never start any kind of training while pregnant.

Miller’s story has a great ending:

Miller who was looking forward to getting rest, said she the only effects she felt from the marathon, which she finished around 3:30 p.m., were blisters on her feet. She was just happy to see her daughter June, who was born at 10:29 p.m. at 7 pounds, 13 ounces with no complications.

What a wonderful blessing and great inspiration for the rest of us slackers. Showoff!