California woman runs 5:25 mile at 9 months pregnant

American runner Makenna Myler ran a 5:25 mile last week. That’s a pretty quick time, and many people would be thrilled to come close to that on their best days. Oh, but there’s one other thing to note: Myler is nine months pregnant. That’s right, a mother-to-be hammered four laps of the track, not only breaking a six-minute-mile, but running sub-5:30. After her incredible run, Myler’s husband posted a video of the time trial on Tik Tok and Instagram, prompting media attention from news outlets everywhere. 

@mikemyler

Someone find whether this is a world record #pregnant #zoomies #track #mile #champion

♬ original sound – Mike Myler

When news got out about Myler’s result, she spoke with Buzzfeed to talk about the run. Myler, 28, lives and trains in California, and she told Buzzfeed that she has been running five or six times a week over the last nine months. “I cut back my mileage a lot and have been a lot slower,” she said, “but I have been very particular with my strength training to make sure my pelvic shift and added weight doesn’t cause any injury.” She said she was nervous to run as her pregnancy progressed, but after two doctors said it was OK to continue to train, she decided to keep it up.

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After telling her husband that she figured she would still be able to run a seven-minute-mile later on in her pregnancy, he made things a bit more interesting for her, promising her $100 if she could break eight minutes at nine months pregnant. She took the bet, not only breaking eight, but smashing the bar her husband had set for her.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd66E2chbqZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

According to her athletic.net profile, Myler’s mile PB is 4:43.31. She also boasts an impressive 5,000m best of 16:10.33, and in 2018, she represented the U.S. at the Edinburg Cross-Country International Challenge. Running is clearly a big part of her life, and she said doing it while pregnant “has been a beautiful process of accepting effort and patience, not forcing anything and letting go of pace and forced mileage.” Myler is due on October 19, but she told Buzzfeed that she expects to keep running until then.

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