"Published: 13 June 2019 kept me sane and made me a better mum"

Brigid Pickett only needed to pace her husband, Jeff, for 10 miles. When she met him at an aid station, he was 90 miles into the IMTUF 100 ultra race in Idaho, US, and struggling, hours behind schedule. She wanted to help him finish. What was 10 miles? But she had reservations. ‘I didn’t want to be a concern to him,’ she says. ‘And I was worried what people might think.’

Pickett, 29, was 31 weeks pregnant. She felt pangs of worry. Her bump was growing — running while pregnant drew stares. But Jeff insisted that if she felt good, she should pace him.

Three years before, when Pickett was pregnant with her first child, Mila, she didn’t run at all. She had high blood pressure and feared that asking her doctor to run would be perceived as selfish.

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‘I was intimidated by my label of high risk,’ she says. ‘I was scared that running could be harmful to my baby.’ But as soon as she was cleared post-baby, Pickett went back to her routine and trained for a 50km trail ultra. ‘Trail running became my “me” time,’ she says. ‘I felt that after a run, I could come back to being a mum with more confidence and a better sense of calm.’

During this pregnancy, Pickett, was cleared to run straight away. When she started to slow down in the early weeks of her pregnancy, she was frustrated. There were physical challenges – difficulty breathing, frequent bathroom breaks, and aches and pains in her pelvis and lower back.

As Pickett got bigger, she adjusted. She let her body tell her what pace she could handle, ran trails she was familiar with and went out in the morning, when the temperature was cool. The few interactions Pickett had while running with a big belly were mostly positive.

In those last 10 miles with her husband, the pair talked about how running allowed Pickett to keep her sense of self when their lives were about to change again. ‘It was fun to be at the aid stations with her,’ says Jeff. ‘Everyone was blown away, and focused on how amazing she was.’ On November 19, 2018, Pickett welcomed her new arrival into the world, just three days after she ran her last miles of this pregnancy.

She hopes she won’t be down for too much longer, because she has big plans once she can hit the trails again — her first 50-miler.

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Tips on safe running during pregnancy

Baby steps

Staying active has health benefits for mums-to-be: it may decrease the risk of gestational diabetes, hypertensive conditions and mood disorders, says female reproductive health specialist and runner Dr Erin Dawson--Chalat. Here’s what you need to know to stay safe.

Pace yourself

This isn’t the time to push for a PB. In the first weeks, especially, you may experience shortness of breath due to increased progesterone levels, which can lead to an increased respiratory rate. Dawson--Chalat says to slow your pace or even add walking, cycling or swimming to your routine.

Fuel for two

Pregnant women who don’t run should add an extra 340-450kcals per day during the last two trimesters (assuming they’re not overweight). Those who run should add an additional 100kcals for every mile on top of that, says sports dietitian Lindsay Langford.

Stay cool

If your core temp gets above 38.9C, it could lead to miscarriage or neural tube defects. Dawson--Chalat says that most women can handle an easy run on an average summer day, though. It shouldn’t cause overheating if you stay hydrated.