A mum who ran 3,000 miles during one pregnancy - including a marathon at 31 weeks - says it helps her feel in control of her body. Sophie Carter, 43, kept running through each of her four pregnancies - even completing eight miles a day when she was 36 weeks pregnant with twins.
While pregnant with her youngest child, Teddy, in 2022, she did a 50km race, two 100kms and a marathon at 31 weeks pregnant - which she completed in three hours and 39 minutes. She even squeezed in a 12 mile jog the day before she gave birth.
Sophie estimates she ran 3,000 miles during her most recent pregnancy - and was back at it two days after labour. The mum-of-five said it helps her to stay mentally healthy while juggling work, carrying a baby and looking after young children.
Sophie describes the sensation of running while pregnant as “like carrying a heavy round backpack on your front.” The personal trainer, from Woodstock, Oxford, said: “When you’re pregnant it can feel like your body’s not your own and you’re being taken over by something out of your control.
"Being able to keep running gave me that peace of mind to say, ‘I’m still me’. I ran while I was pregnant with the twins up until 36 weeks pregnant. When I tell people, they’re always very surprised, but I found it really beneficial, especially as it was lockdown and people had nothing to do. I had the goal of qualifying for the world championship, so I wanted to keep things ticking over.
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“Like getting up and brushing my teeth, going for a run is part of my routine.” I go out thinking if it ever doesn’t feel good and I need to stop, I will. At 36 weeks, I felt a contraction and thought something was happening. They were born the following week.”
Sophie has always enjoyed long-distance running and completed her first marathon in 2006, aged 25. Inspired by former Team GB marathon runner Paula Radcliffe, Sophie continued running throughout her first pregnancy with her daughter, Faith, in 2009, to keep fit.
But when her mum, Auriel, fell ill with bowel cancer in 2012, she began to focus on running more seriously. At the time, Sophie was pregnant with her second child, Ethan, and her then-husband was posted to Afghanistan as part of the British Army.
She was looking after her firstborn Faith at home alone, and running became her “safe space”. “Sometimes I’d run twice a day for up to 20 miles,” she said.
“Running was the one thing that made me feel better about myself. It was a safe space and it gave me a goal to focus on.” After her mum died in 2017, she took up ultramarathons - up to 100km, nearly two and half times the distance of a single marathon.
"I thought, 'what makes me feel happy?' Running," she said. "That’s what spurred me on and helped me deal with the grief.”
When Sophie became pregnant with twins Jaxon and Isla in 2020, she continued running eight miles a day. Sophie found out she was six-weeks pregnant with her youngest child, Teddy, in April last year, aged 42, a week before a 100km race.
“I talked to my partner and thought I may as well do the event as I’d already booked it," she said "I told myself that if I don’t feel good then I’ll just stop.”
Sophie came 6th, finishing in eight hours and 30 minutes - just 19 minutes off her personal best. She said: “Doing it with one single pregnancy felt a lot easier than with twins.”
She did a 50km race six weeks later, finishing first out of the female contestants. Then, at 20 weeks pregnant, with the “the tiniest of bumps”, she took part in The Race to The Stones - a 100 km cross country race along Britain's oldest footpath from Oxfordshire to Wiltshire.
Despite temperatures soaring above 20 degrees, Sophie finished in the top ten overall and was the second woman to cross the finishing line. And in October last year, at 31 weeks pregnant, she completed the Virtual London Marathon, finishing in an impressive time of three hours and 39 minutes.
“I did the marathon in the morning, and then I went home and took the kids out for a walk in the afternoon,” she said. Although it was some way off her best marathon time of two hours and 48 minutes, Sophie said: “The bump slows you down, but it was fast for someone at 31 weeks. I was just pleased to be able to cover the distance.
“Your muscles hold the baby in place, so there’s hardly any movement around.” Sophie says running a marathon while pregnant is no different to preparing for a regular marathon.
“The main difference is I’m running slower and listening to my body a lot more,” she said. “Most people I tell are amazed by how far I can run and say, ‘I can’t even do that when I’m not pregnant’,” she said.
“It’s a myth that women shouldn’t exercise while pregnant. My pregnancies were healthy, and I haven’t had any problems. Historically, people have said you need to sit still, rest and eat for two.
"But I’ve spoken to neonatologists who say that’s the worst thing you can do as afterwards it’s much harder to get back into being active. Dealing with the challenges of parenting while pregnant, I find running massively helps my mental and physical well being.
“A gynaecologist told me there isn’t a maximum distance women can run while pregnant, it’s just what they’re comfortable with. For most women 5k might be comfortable, but for me 100k is still comfortable.
“If women are used to exercising, being pregnant is not a reason to stop. Women should listen to their bodies and continue if it feels okay. I understand it’s an individual thing and if you don’t want to, that’s okay.
"I want my experience to show women you can continue to exercise to a level you’re used to. You’ll be okay and your baby will be too."
