Why Sarah Runs
We caught up with Sarah once again in her hometown, Portland Oregon, where she juggles family life with three kids, her business and, of course, running.
Sarah Bowen Shea runs like a mother, trains like a mother and runs the website, online community and virtual runner’s aid station known as AnotherMotherRunner.com — home base for thousands of mother-runners around the world. With her business partner, Dimity McDowell, Sarah co-authored two books, Run Like A Mother and Train Like A Mother, which have become the definitive texts for women with and without children looking for in depth guidance on how to fit running and training into their lives — whether that’s around the neighborhood or in a marathon. When Christy and Sarah connected on Twitter (@SBSontherun), Sarah invited Christy to join her and Dimity on AnotherMotherRunner radio to chat about running, marathon training, Every Mother Counts and how that all lines up with motherhood. After that conversation, it was only natural that Christy and Sarah would lace up their sneakers to run together. We caught up with Sarah once again in her hometown, Portland Oregon, where she juggles family life with three kids, her business and, of course, running.
Why do you run?
First of all, I love to be outside. I love that you can run anywhere and it’s free. I’ve run in Russia, run in my own cities…really, you can run anywhere. But the other reason I run is that it lets me nurture my competitive side. I’ve always kind of thought of myself as a poser. People think I’m really confident and let me tell you, I’m so not. Running gives me this extra sense of bravado that helps me compensate for that. I feel so triumphant after a workout. It validates me. Plus mother-runners are a strong tribe and I love being part of that.
How do you keep your mind busy during a run?
Actually, my mind level flattens out while I’m running. I might head out the door thinking I’m going to come up with creative solutions for whatever challenges I’m facing, but then, my mind shifts into an alternate state or shuts off or goes in random directions. I think I’m going to figure it all out and instead I’m thinking, “Oh that’s a nice cat or I love that house.” That’s about all the deep thinking I do and that’s just perfect for me. I’ve never been a meditation person or a church-goer, but I find God when I’m outside in nature. Going for a run is church for me.
Do you listen to music while you run?
Oh yeah. I either listen to music or pod casts. I have certain playlists that are a mix of slower paced stuff and songs that are inspirational. I keep it kind of mellow at the beginning of the run and then, at about the half-way mark, I pick up the pace with songs by Usher, Kelly Clarkson, Flo Rida and others. We have a lot of playlists people can check out on our website and they can download our podcasts on our Another Mother Runner iTunes page.
What do you wish women would run for?
I wish women would run because they realize they matter, that it’s OK to put themselves first. They’re not being selfish if they head out the door for a run. They deserve that time and their family will be the better for it. I had to learn that lesson myself. I trained for my first post-kid marathon when my first baby was only 10 months old. Sure, the baby or child might cry for a minute when you leave, but they stop right away and it gives Dad the opportunity to step it up in the Dad-department. When I was gone for two or three hours, I’d leave a bottle and my husband and the baby figured it out. When we had the twins later, he was perfectly fine managing the family without me for a while. In fact, one day when I was training for a Nike women’s marathon, our twins were babies and had magnificent diaper blowouts on our beige carpet. By the time I got back from my run, my husband had cleaned up the twins, run to the store, rented a carpet cleaner and shampooed the rug. That’s a perfect example for moms to remember that they can go for a run and yes, shit happens, but their partner can deal with it or put in on hold.
How do the distances 5K and 26.2 miles resonate for you?
The thing that really hit home for me was when Christy said that for women in the developing world “nothing gets taken off a woman’s plate just because she goes into labor.” She still has to go to the well and get water and do all her normal duties, even while she’s having contractions. That she might have to walk a distance in labor we consider heroic to run makes me realize how lucky I am to have been born in this country, into a family that lives above the poverty line. I have a very comfortable life and running is a privilege and luxury.
