Don’t feed the trolls.

I repeated this over and over as I typed response after response—and then deleted each in turn—to comments on a recent Runner’s World Instagram post, which showed British ultrarunner Sophie Power breastfeeding her 3-month-old at an aid station during Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), a hundred-mile trail race in Europe.

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We like to think that the running community is supportive of its own, but sometimes detractors can rile us up. When I was an editor at Runner’s World, it took everything in my power not to read the comments on stories I’d written or edited. I knew a handful of negative messages would end up being my only focus.

Once I became a mom and started to write about running and momming (as I like to call it), I found myself on the receiving end of more of that vilification—from male and female runners. In fact, just earlier this year, I received backlash for a piece I wrote because I said I didn’t want my new title of “mom” to overshadow my title of “runner.” Being a runner is part of who I am, and I’m a happier me when I run.

So when Runner’s World posted a photo of a pregnant runner this summer and then of this breastfeeding ultramarathoner, I couldn’t help but read the comments. As a mom who breastfed and runs, attacks on these women felt like attacks on me.

When stories like this come up, negative commenters tend to fall in a couple specific camps. Let’s explore both:

The “No One Wants to See That” Trope

People seem to forget why breasts exist. Their sole purpose is, in fact, to feed babies.

So it’s baffling and infuriating when people comment on photos of women (runners or not) breastfeeding their children, saying things like, “That’s disgusting!” or “No one wants to see that!” or “Can’t you go somewhere private?”

A couple of years ago, I edited an article about a woman who used a manual pump to express breast milk during her half marathon to alleviate engorgement. While there were celebratory comments, many berated the woman for “seeking attention.” (Clearly, these were people who didn’t understand how uncomfortable it is to go hours without pumping or feeding.)

As a friend pointed out, where are these comments when dudes are peeing in the starting corrals of races? Or when they pull up to a tree at mile three and don’t even bother turning their backs on the race field? It’s just accepted that guys pee wherever they need to.

Unfortunately, this feeling on breastfeeding isn’t just noticeable in the running community. When asked if they felt comfortable being around a mother breastfeeding in public, nearly one in five people said they disagreed with the statement, a 2017 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. And when more than 500 men were shown four images of a woman breastfeeding, they rated ones in which she was doing so in public significantly less positively, a 2017 study from Brigham Young University found.

I’m ashamed to say I’m still ashamed to breastfeed in public. I’ll do it, but not without a Big Top circus tent. Maybe by my next kid, I’ll care less about what others think about my providing nutrition to my baby and more about making sure he or she doesn’t spit up all over my shirt.

The “That’s So Selfish” Argument

Women who are trying to get pregnant, get pregnant, and then breastfeed sacrifice their bodies—and let’s be honest, often their minds—for their children. I counted down the days until my six-week postpartum doctor appointment so she could give me the all clear to run again.

I felt like I had lost a part of me when I couldn’t run.

Teal Burrell, 33, a writer, runner, and mom, felt the same.

“Coming back from having a baby and becoming a mother is freaking hard,” she told Runner’s World by email. “Running is one of the things that saved me, that made me feel like I was still me. It gave me a chance to clear my head and get some much-needed endorphins in those somewhat dark early days. We should be helping women feel like themselves again, and if they are breastfeeding, then that means providing a way for them to do both.”

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So when people, amazingly men and women, say it is “too soon” for getting back on the road or trail after having children—whether that’s six weeks after birth or two years—or call them “selfish” or “gross” for midrun breasfeeding, I want to scream.

Yes, we could see a majority of people—probably 90 percent or more—who read the story about Sophie Power and saw the Instagram post were applauding her and calling her (rightfully) a badass, but it’s easy to fall into an echo chamber of negative. A quick Twitter poll also confirmed that a hefty majority of our followers thought midrun breastfeeding was completely fine.

Like many of our followers, we were shocked to see even a handful of fellow runners calling moms, who have sacrificed everything for their children, harsh words for doing something they love while still breastfeeding. After all, what’s more selfless than providing nourishment to your baby from your body?



Just Keep Running

As I mentioned earlier, a more positive me can only be better for my kiddo. Research backs up the importance of kids having a mom satisfied with her life.

A 2018 report in Frontiers in Psychology found that the more satisfied a mom was with her life, the more she was involved in activities with her children. And children of satisfied moms scored higher on tests for pro-social behavior compared to children of less satisfied moms. In fact, as the study concluded, “Mothers must first mother themselves in order to truly mother their children well… The way to a healthy and optimal developed child is through their mother’s well-being.”

I believe it. For me, a vital key to my wellbeing is keeping up my running. When I get home from a good, hard workout, I face the day with my little guy with more energy and excitement than on days I didn’t run.



Plus, it’s not surprising that when moms are active, so are their kids. A 2017 study in the European Journal of Public Health found that it was moms’ participation in physical activities—not dads’—that were associated with higher participation in these activities in their kids. And we don’t have to go through the numerous physical and mental benefits kids can reap by staying active.

So, to all you moms out there who are raising children while running (and breastfeeding, if that’s the route you took) ignore the naysayers out there who are trying to make you feel guilty for melding the two.

Just last week, my son watched me run a 5:33 in the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City, something I’d been working toward since I was cleared to run after he was born. I got to hug him at the finish line and then take him out for a run in the stroller.

He may not become a runner one day, but I hope watching me pursue my passion and work hard to hit my goals will inspire him to do the same—whatever they may be. I hope he’ll one day applaud the moms who give everything to feed their little ones while still running hard because he’s proud of his mom who did just that.

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