LDS Mom Breaks World Record for Half Marathon While Pushing Triple Stroller

Ashlee Eskelsen, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Tennessee, obviously loves a good challenge. In 2017, at 14 weeks into her pregnancy, she ran the Boston Marathon. This year she decided to try something a little different.

On Saturday, 10 March 2018, in Montgomery, Alabama, Ashlee set a world record by beating the previous world record for the 13.1-mile race by 30 seconds. That does not seem too unlikely, however, Ashlee ran the race while pushing a triple stroller with her three sons – the youngest being just four and a half months old.

She finished the 2018 Montgomery Half Marathon and 5K in 1:47:29, a pace of about 8:20 per mile. Her children and the stroller, certified by USA Track and Field, weighed about 150 pounds combined. The previous record was set by Ann Marie Cody, who finished the Fresno Half Marathon in November 2017 in 1:47:59 pushing triplets.

After finishing the race, she spoke with Marathon Runs in a video interview while holding her youngest son. She also spoke with Alabama News.net and said, “Those last few miles, they were hard. I had to stay strong mentally, and my motto is just for moms everywhere and I was praying, like I said out there. So, I was hoping some angels would could help me push it because no one else could touch the stroller.” When asked by Marathon Runs why she wanted to break the record, she replied, “I wanted to inspire people to do something great.”

According to Alabama News.net, Guinness World Records still need to confirm the race times before the record can be officially updated.