This mom is going viral for running a 5:25 mile—at 9 months pregnant
Motherly spoke with a fast mama who is going mega-viral days before her due date.
Makenna Myler
Makenna Myler is nine months pregnant and due on Monday, October 19. But Myler isn’t just going into labor soon—she’s also going viral right now.
As first reported by Buzzfeed, a video of Myler (shot by her husband, Mike) has gone mega -viral on TikTok. A clip of Myler running a 5:25 mile while super pregnant has now been viewed more than 3.4 million times.
“I didn’t even know my husband posted it until half the day later,” Myler tells Motherly.
Myler says the comments on the video run the gamut from supportive to confused. Some people have commented that the video gives them anxiety or makes them anxious for Myler’s baby. There’s no reason for strangers to be anxious, though. This mama-to-be has medical professionals looking after her.
As Myler tells Motherly, she was training at an elite level for years before her pregnancy. She and her husband were living in Australia when she got pregnant, and her doctor there was very supportive of her continuing to run.
“He was super cool about it because he had dealt with some elite athletes before and he was like, ‘yeah, just keep running’,” Myler explains.
Halfway through her pregnancy, the couple moved back to the United States and Myler had to explain her situation to a new doctor, who was initially a little nervous about her running regime.
“Now we’re in California and my doctor kind of didn’t know,” Myler explains, adding that initially, her doctor was giving her guidance that didn’t consider that she’s the kind of person who was doing 100-mile weeks before pregnancy. So when she told hi she was running 40 or 50 miles a week he was concerned, until he realized she’d already slowed down by half.
“But then we did an ultrasound and my baby’s been healthy,” Myler says. “After that he was more supportive.”
Her husband has obviously been very supportive of her running plans, and Myler hopes that the video’s virality will lead to more support for pregnant people in general. She doesn’t agree with a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all approach to pregnancy and wants society to look at pregnant people as the capable individuals they are.
It’s interesting to Myler that while internet commenters are very concerned about her pregnancy, there’s not as much concern for pregnant people who are say, working a physically demanding job in the third trimester, or live in countries where they have to walk miles and miles per day to get water for their families.
Myler expects that her first child may not arrive right on time on October 19, but whenever the baby arrives, one thing is certain: She’s not going to be rushing to “bounce back” or get back to her old run times.
“I just think like, I don’t want to be the same person. I want to be a different prison and move forward and be stronger than I was before. Because now I have a kid. I plan to take it really slow actually. And really listen to my body. That’s like been a big deal throughout the pregnancy and will continue to be a big deal is to listen and learn.”
Reminder: Myler wants to make it clear to everyone that her 5:25 mile did not come out of nowhere. She was training at a professional level before her pregnancy and continued to train throughout. Pregnant people who haven’t been running should not get up today and try to do what she did.
Talk to your doctor or midwife about your exercise plans. Many workouts can be modified for pregnancy, and movement is good for mamas-to-be.
The Mayo Clinic recommends exercise in pregnancy but says you should make sure you have your health care provider stamp pf approval because while exercise during pregnancy is generally good and advisable, your medical team may tell you to slow down if you have heart or lung disease, cervical or placenta problems, high blood pressure or preeclampsia or other risk factors.
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