Amy Keil has been a lifelong runner, completing several long distance relays with friends and finishing two marathons. She ran her second, the Twin Cities Marathon in October of 2013, in 3:23:13, which gave her a qualifying time for this year’s Boston Marathon.

In the meantime, Keil and her husband, Kris, learned she was expecting their first child, due June 4.

“We got married and got pregnant—and basically, both of my dreams happened at the same time,” Keil, 35, said.

When Keil figured she would be 34 weeks along for the Boston Marathon, she continued to train, with the blessing of her doctor.

“My doctor was fairly cool with it since I’ve always been a runner,” Keil said. “She said at the beginning, ‘Okay, we’ll have to see how it goes.’”

The understanding was that if Keil in any way had a difficult pregnancy, the Boston Marathon would have to wait.

Keil sailed through her first two trimesters, training in the early morning hours through the Minneapolis winter with Kris by her side. In late March, she completed a 20-mile training run. And five days before Boston, Keil had a visit with her doctor, who gave her the go-ahead to run the marathon.

Wearing a pink shirt with handmade lettering that read, “Coming in 6 weeks!” and her bib number over her bump, she finished yesterday in 4:19:14, maintaining a 9:54 pace over the distance. Kris met her at mile 14 for a big kiss, and the crowds were overwhelmingly positive, she said.

“My strategy yesterday to feel strong and make sure baby was OK and it’s so hard, the fans were so awesome, they were cheering me on the whole time,” Keil said. “It was hard [to hold back]. I went out maybe a little strong in the beginning.”

Keil, who has gained 30 pounds with the pregnancy, said that by the top of Heartbreak Hill, her pelvis and hips were very sore from where the baby was sitting, but her quads and hamstrings were fine. “I had this before, so I knew what it was,” she said. “It’s not like a running pain; it’s a being pregnant pain.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Keil and her husband were at the airport, heading back to Minneapolis—and some very relieved grandparents-to-be. “I’m not supposed to fly beyond this point in time, either,” she said. “They’re ready for us to be home tonight.”

She and Kris, meanwhile, are ready for the baby. They don’t know the gender, but they have picked out names.

And they’ve already purchased a baby jogger.

Sarah Lorge Butler Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005.

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