How to Train For Ultramarathons With a Baby

Before I dig into this topic, I want to start by sharing one thing: not everyone will want to train for ultras or mountain adventures when they have a baby. It’s a precious time to cherish, and the mountains and Ultrasignup will always be there! (Well, maybe not Ultrasignup, but the mountains sure will be!)

If you’re like me, you may find that running takes on an even bigger significance in your life after having a baby. I can’t think of many better ways to get a complete mental and physical boost in a short amount of time than running. Having my son made me enjoy my runs and races even more!

Because I wanted something big as a postpartum motivator, I set an audacious goal to run the hardest race I’ve done, the HURT100, one year after having Luc. Training wasn’t easy to schedule as it used to be when I had unlimited free time after work and on weekends, but I pulled it off, and thought it would be fun to share some of the creative strategies I used to train for the event.

Get a good running stroller

I was reluctant to get a running stroller initially. They’re expensive, and I thought that I’d want to do all my running without the baby, as a break. However, I decided to just bite the bullet and buy one, and I’m so glad I did! It’s been an amazing way to still be able to run when you’re on parent duty, or if you’re a single parent. Rather than just being stuck at home, I spent a lot of my maternity leave running miles around town with my baby. With a good playlist or podcast and a pair of airpods, it became really enjoyable. Even on days when I did have some free time to do a solo trail run, it was nice to have the option to have longer, thanks to the stroller. One example was a weekend when we had two hours of free time on a Saturday before we had an appointment. My partner and I usually try split the free time in half, but because I had the stroller, I was able to run for the whole two hours of free time. I did the first hour solo, and then I came back to get my little buddy for the second hour. It worked out so well, and it actually really motivated me to have a little cheerleader for the second half. Of course it’s harder, and as a result your pace is going to be slower than usual. (My Thule Glide 2 stroller weighs 24 pounds without a baby in it, and now that my baby is around 25 pounds, that’s substantial!) The trick to enjoying the stroller run is just to not look at your watch, run based on effort, and focus on enjoying your surroundings. It’s great training, as you’re getting a run in + getting all that resistance training in!

The biggest reason not to get a running stroller is the price, they’re not cheap. However, if you can get a used running stroller on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, and you keep it in good condition, it’s likely you can re-sell it again after and recoup a lot of your costs. Oh, and pro tip: if you live in the Pacific Northwest, definitely buy a rain cover! I use the rain cover pretty much year round, it helps for wind too!

Bring the baby to track workouts

For a long time, my husband and I traded off for workouts. He’d be with Luc while I did a 90-minute run, and then we’d swap. Eventually, we realized that we could just all go together, thanks to our stroller and the local track!

We started doing these family track workouts, where we’d all jog to the track together, and then we’d alternate intervals or tempo runs at the track. Whoever was getting their rest would take the stroller, and either jog around, or just hang out. When it was your turn to do your interval, you’d hand off the stroller like a relay baton to the other runner, and they’d take over. It worked so well, as we all got to be together, we got a great workout, and it was super time efficient. We also did this during the baby’s nap, so it was extra productive. The best part, was that it made intervals feel way less daunting… when it was your turn to go, you got to hand off the stroller, and you were suddenly almost 50 pounds lighter! It felt so good when it was time to run fast.

For single parents, you can do this with a friend. You can even do this with another parent, if you can find yourself a double stroller.

Consider a treadmill

As an outdoorsy person, I never felt comfortable on a treadmill. Until this year! On one snowy day in December, I suddenly had a change of heart, and decided it was time to invest in a treadmill. This has been a game changer! It creates an opportunity to run during nap times, especially when you’re solo-parenting, or if you’re not sure how long the nap will be. It takes less time to get ready, as you can wear anything, and you’re not going anywhere. The other nice thing is that, if you’re combining this with stroller runs, treadmills are a great way to incorporate some elevation gain, which may be harder to do (and way less enjoyable) if you’re running with a stroller outside. The other benefit is for running at night. Luc goes to bed at 7:30pm, and typically that’s not when I’d want to run outside, as there’s a lot of wildlife where I live. However, it’s much easier to hop on the treadmill if a nighttime run is necessary.

Similar to the running stroller, price is a barrier. I got my treadmill used on Facebook Marketplace for a fraction of the price, and you can also rent them monthly, through third party companies.

Use nap times!

When I was on maternity leave, nap time became a great window to get a trail run in. I was lucky that Julien was working from home, and he’d usually take an hour off at lunch so that I could go run. As Luc’s naps became more regular, we shifted my daily run time to align with Luc’s nap time (which evolved as nap times changed). It meant that Julien could mostly keep working, just being there in case Luc needed him. It also typically meant that I could typically add a little bit of time onto my runs, knowing that a lot of the run would be “free” without adding to Julien’s work day.

These days, now that my parental leave is over, I use nap times for nutrition and recovery. On weekends, I try my best to get home from long runs before Luc’s ~11am nap, which gives me a full hour (or more) for eating, showering, and generally taking care of myself, so that I can get all those needs covered before he gets up. Before I started doing this, I would come home from a long run and then immediately attempt to parent, and it often meant that I wasn’t taking care of either of us very well. This simple change has worked so well since I started doing it, as I’m in an amazing mood when Luc gets up… I’ve gone for a long run, and am completely re-fuelled, clean, and dry!

Get a baby carrier

A baby carrier (backpack or ergo) is another great parent training tool for mountainous ultras. While the running stroller is great for base miles, they’re not designed for steep terrain, and are really most enjoyable on bike paths and gravel trails. If your ultra has any hiking in it, I’d recommend getting a baby carrier, so that you can get some vert training in with your kid!

I started with an ergo carrier, and graduated to a baby backpack as soon as Luc could stabilize his head and neck, around 7 months. This allowed me to do all kinds of cool training with the baby. My favourite routine was hiking up Squamish’s Sea to Summit trail on Fridays, having a cold delicious drink and some kind of treat at the top, and taking the gondola down. This is almost 1,000 meters of gain, with all that weight on my back, and it made me feel so strong! I love hiking up routes with gondolas, as I get a great workout on the climb, and then I can avoid doing the long, steep descent with the baby.

I have a Thule Sapling backpack these days, and this is also a great item to buy second-hand, and then re-sell down the road.

You got this!

It’s hard work balancing everything, but it’s so worth it. Those are some of the creative things I did to train toward a second-place finish at the Squamish 50k when Luc was 7 months old, a win at the Golden Ultra when he was 8 months old, and finishing HURT100, when Luc had just turned one. Every baby is different, so these ideas may not work for everyone, but everything is worth a try!