Over the past two years, we have seen an uptick in American marathoning, specifically in the women’s field. This weekend, at the 2022 Houston Marathon, two women – Keira D’Amato and Sara Hall – broke the American Records (AR) for the marathon and the half-marathon, respectively. Perhaps even more significant is the fact that both women are moms.
Keira D’Amato ran 2:19:12 to break the AR in the marathon at 37 years old with two kids. Sara Hall put up 67:15, breaking the AR for the half-marathon at 38 years old with four kids (just over a year after running the second-fastest marathon for an American woman at The Marathon Project). Both women are at the pinnacle of an American distance running movement and are doing so while proving that age is truly just a number and, importantly, that you can be a mom and still crush it out on the pavement.
It’s common knowledge that, in general, the further the distance, the later you peak – at least as far as distance running is concerned. But for most people, this means 28-31. In fact, Chris McDougal writes in Born to Run that people continue accumulating speed (assuming a consistent and diligent training regimen) until they are about 29, at which point their body and performance begin degrading slowly. His point is more so about the longevity of high-performance running – he goes on to say that it would take someone until well into their fifties to degrade to the point they were at when they were 21 – but it also assumes that you don’t have much speed left after you turn 30.
Sara Hall and Keira D’Amato are here to tell us that simply isn’t true. For further reference, D’Amato’s average pace at the 2022 Houston Marathon was 5:19 min/mile. Hall’s pace was 5:08 min/mile for 13.1. Clearly, we have more to discover about the limits of our human condition.
As if their age wasn’t impressive enough, both women are mothers. Anyone who has kids, or was a kid, or knows people who have kids knows that motherhood is an impressive – and time-intensive – thing. No matter if you’re a stay-at-home mom or work full-time, taking care of one, let alone more than one, child is tough work. D’Amato and Hall have shown that it is possible, not only to be a mom and work out but also to excel in competition and reach the pinnacle of your sport.
Keira D’Amato and Sara Hall weren’t the only fast Americans in Houston. Fiona O’Keefe and Emily Durgin both ran sub-68:00 half marathons. One reason this is significant is that before this weekend only four American women had broken the 68-minute barrier (Keira D’Amato is one of those four, running 67:55 last month). In the male field, keep an eye on Frank Lara, who put up a 2:11:32 in his debut marathon, finishing first among Americans and sixth overall, only 29 seconds off the race leader.
No matter how you look at it, the 2022 Houston Marathon was a win for American runners and a win for moms. Keira D’Amato and Sara Hall became America’s fastest runners at ages 37 and 38, all while being full-time mothers. If you’re a mom, now’s the time to be proud of everything you’ve accomplished, no matter how long you’ve been a mother. Otherwise, now is an excellent time to show some appreciation to the mothers in your life.
If you liked this article, check out: What the 2021 Olympic Marathon Says (and doesn’t say) About the Future of American Marathoners