For most people, the thought of running 100km is daunting enough. So imagine running 100km while having to manage your breast milk supply. That's exactly what 43-year-old Sophie Carter did last weekend – finishing 1st female and 9th overall at Race to the Stones ultra-marathon in Avebury.
‘People think when you’ve had a baby you’re not going to be as fast or as fit, but I’ve always got fitter and faster and something just drives you on more,’ Carter tells RW.
The mum of five ran her first marathon in 2005, but didn’t take the plunge into ultra-running until 2016, when her mum was diagnosed with cancer. Her first race was – ironically – Race to the Stones, where she got lost.
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'I thought, you know what, I'm going to do it again, it's not going to put me off.'
Carter’s third and fourth children – twins – were born in lockdown, so she didn’t have to do any on-the-run pumping or breastfeeding because there weren’t any races on. So when her fifth child was born last November, she says her initial thought was, ‘I won’t be able to do any more ultras because I’ll have to feed him’.
‘Then I saw the Elvie Pump – it’s a total gamechanger and so quick as well,’ she says. ‘It’s so important as a mother not to lose your sense of self and not to feel like you have to give something up.'
During Race to the Stones, Carter could wear the Pump in her bra, switch a button and manage her milk supply automatically – no need for manual pumping by hand or even (in Carter’s case) to stop.
‘I just walked faster and wore it, then handed it over to my partner who was on the course so my son could take the milk. It opens up so many more opportunities – I didn’t want to just not do [the race] because I’m feeding. The two combine really well.’
If anything, Carter says she was more on top of her fuelling and hydration strategy than ever. ‘I knew that hydration would be really important to provide fluids for breast feeding and to keep my body and muscles hydrated. I don’t think I’ve ever drank so much – I was much more sensible and cautious.’
Her advice to other mums?
‘It’s important to do something for yourself and not feel guilty for doing that – and it can fit around being a mother as well.’
