by Maggie Hendricks
A woman from suburban Chicago participated in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, grabbed some late lunch, then went to the hospital and gave birth to her daughter. Yes, that makes your lazy Sunday 10 times lazier in comparison.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Amber Miller, who was nearly 39 weeks pregnant, got the OK from her doctor to run half of the 26.2-mile event that winds through the neighborhoods of Chicago. With her husband at her side, she ran the first half and then walked the second half, finishing the marathon with a time of 6:25.
Miller said that she did experience contractions near the end of the run, but still was able to cross the finish line. Marathon officials were supportive, and no one discouraged her from running.
"Nobody tried to do that," she said. "It wasn't too bad, you know? I have been running all the way up until this point anyway so I'm kind of used to it."
June was born at 10:29 p.m., and weighs 7 pounds, 13 ounces.
In addition to having a very pregnant woman finishing the race, the Chicago Marathon featured two other firsts. Moses Mosop set a course record with a time of 2:05.37, breaking by four seconds the mark set by the recently deceased Sammy Wanjiru. And Liliya Shobukhova became the first athlete to win three straight marathons.
Not all of the news from the marathon was happy, though, as William Caviness, a firefighter from North Carolina, collapsed a short distance from the finish line. He died soon after. Caviness was running the marathon to raise money for burn victims.
Woman gives birth hours after completing Chicago Marathon
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A pregnant woman in Chicago Marathon? Is this really allowed in some marathons?
I just can't imagine running a 42km with all that weight. The thought alone is tiresome. Huge congratulations to her and her baby :)
ReplyDeleteI couldn't imagine it, too. :)
ReplyDelete