My best running experience: “I ran Boston pregnant”

Eleven years ago, Tosha Freitag stood at the start line of the Boston Marathon four months pregnant. When the other runners started, so did she– carrying her first child in her belly for the full race.

Running while pregnant was one of her favourite memories in running. Back in 2005, Freitag had spent the winter training for the Around the Bay. When she found out she was pregnant, she bought a “Pregnancy and Running” book almost right away.

She kept up with training despite the morning sickness and coming up to Boston, her doctor had told her to run if she felt OK but to cancel if she felt sick that morning.

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Luckily, Freitag felt in good enough condition on race day so, in her preparation, she strapped on a “Baby on Board” and headed to the start.

“The best memory was probably people’s comments about the baby on board sign,” she says. “I got a lot of encouragement from women. One man said to me ‘Do you honestly think this is healthy for you child?'”

Freitag crossed the finish at around the four-hour mark. It was an exhausting day both because of running a full marathon pregnant and also because of the hype that every runner experiences at Boston. Freitag headed to the hotel, slept the rest of the day and ordered some well-deserved room service at the end of the day. One of the best souvenirs of the day: the baby onesie she and her husband bought at the expo.

Freitag has since had two other children and has run through all three of those pregnancies. Her Boston baby is named Carly. While she’s proud to have come along for the Boston ride in the womb, it wasn’t enough to get her to catch the bug.

“The other day when she found out I entered her to run a race in Quebec next week she said ‘Mommy, when are you going to accept that I don’t like running? I love horses!'” says Freitag. “She is an equestrian horse back rider.”

Do you have a cool running experience to share? Email sinead@runningmagazine.ca