There are mothers, and then there are supermothers. Not only did British ultrarunner Sophie Power compete in the Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc, a 106-mile single-stage race through the mountains of France, Italy and Switzerland with 32,940 feet of elevation gain just three months after giving birth, but she breastfed her young son, Cormac, along the way.

“Oh my God, I was in agony!” the 36-year-old mother of two told Runner’s World. “Cormac usually feeds every 3 hours and it took me 16 to get to Courmayeur where he could first meet me, so I was hand expressing everywhere I could en route. I was so relieved he was hungry!”

Before that, Power’s husband met her at various points along the course so she could pump and he could bring the milk back to Cormac.

A photographer from Strava captured the moment when Power was finally able to breastfeed 16 hours into the race.

“A truly incredible image that tells a better story than we ever could – a story of motherhood, endurance and the strength of the human body,” they posted on Instagram. 

 

 

Power, who started running in 2009 to stay in shape, finished the grueling Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc in 43 hours and 33 minutes.

So, how did she train for such a taxing event while pregnant? According to Fox News, she stopped running five months into her pregnancy, but continued to hit the gym for cross-training.

She told the NY Post that, with approval from her doctor, she began running again eight weeks after delivering.

“My husband and I made a decision that enough was in place that I could at least start [the race] and we would see how it went.”

After the race, Power posted more details on Instagram, including one of her favorite moments — crossing the finish line with her other son, Donnacha.

“A week ago I was at the top of Flegere about to run down the mountain into Chamonix and finish UTMB. I’d had about 20 minutes sleep over two nights – my body was tired and I was hallucinating,” she wrote. “What kept me going was how excited I knew Donnacha was about running with me to the finish. He’d done his race earlier in the week and had waited so patiently to help me on mine. This captures the picture in my mind so beautifully I did have to tell him to slow down though!”

 

 

What a day for the Power family.