Many view running as an individual sport. Not Theresa Marie Pitts, a mother of eight who just set a Guinness World Record for pushing a three-child stroller in a marathon. She sees it as a team effort.
Pitts ran the Missoula Marathon in 4 hours, 25 minutes with her three youngest kids along for every step of the way. That’s a total of 145 pounds she had to push for 26.2 miles. To top it off, she had never even run the distance before.
The 38-year-old from Kalispell, MT had to run faster than 4 hours, 30 minutes to snag the record. No one had ever attempted the distance while pushing a three-kid stroller, but the Guinness World Record organization set the mark at 4:30.
“I was completely exhausted,” Pitts admitted. “I was in a lot of pain. I was feeling sick. And then I saw the 4:30 pacers pass me. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ It took everything I had to stay with those 4:30 pacers. Somehow I tapped into an extra reserve tank that I never knew I had.” (Montana Sports)
Her kids slept through most of the miles, but you can bet they woke up when she crossed the finish line and threw her hands in the air as the crowd cheered.
Pitts is no stranger to pushing the pace. In early June, she set the world record for pushing three children in a half-marathon with a time of 2:01:11.
So, how does she do it? Three a.m. wake up calls are part of her recipe for success.
Talk about a family on the go, and a mom who is leading the charge.
