With elite runners like Paula Radcliffe and Kara Goucher competing in and even winning marathons soon after having babies, perhaps there is hope for us mere mortals who just want to finish the distance. My baby will be born in May, and I am going to begin as soon as medically responsible to train for a marathon in October. I got out my old copy of Hal Higdon’s much-loved book Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide and began looking over the training plans, speculating as to when I could begin training and how many weeks I would have between then and race day. It feels good to be at the point where it is reasonable to make plans for after the baby is born!

For those of you who have participated in a marathon after giving birth, and for those of you who want to give it a go, please stop by and add your experiences, advice, and struggles. If you have a different distance in mind, or a different athletic goal, please feel free to chime in. I’m just walking these days, but will chronicle my training experiences once I can run again. To be a Marathon Mom is achievable– many others have proved it, Paula and Kara most famously. Here’s to challenges, to testing the limits of what the human body can do. Let’s encourage and support each other to reach the goal! Shoes? Check. Jogging stroller? Check. Determination? Check. Nothing fancy needed.