Inspiring and Controversial: First and Last in the NYC Marathon

The Last Place Winner

The last person to cross the finish line of the New York City Marathon in 2007 finished a day later than the winner. Zoe Koplowitz finished in 28 hours, 45 minutes, averaging under a mile per hour. That's slow, but she did it on crutches and with back and knee braces. Koplowitz has been living with multiple sclerosis for 30 years, and has diabetes as well. This wasn't her first marathon, she has done several and written a book, "The Winning Spirit: Life Lessons Learned in Last Place," (Compare Prices) about her experiences. I think we can all learn a lot from Zoe. National MS Society article on Zoe Koplowitz

First Place New Mom Creates Controversy

Meanwhile, the first-place woman in the same marathon, Paula Radcliffe, is catching flak for winning the marathon nine months after giving birth. She is an elite athlete -- the women's world record holder and winner of several marathons. Radcliffe continued to run while pregnant and got back into serious marathon training quickly after delivery.

Exercising during and after pregnancy is definitely a good idea, the question is in the intensity. The recommendations are for women to watch their body temperature and heart rate when exercising during pregnancy - keep the heart rate at 140 or below. Heart rate depends on your level of conditioning - a highly trained runner may be able to continue running and not raise the rate beyond the recommendation. The pregnancy hormones also relax your ligaments, which can lead to foot strain. In a video interview with CNN, Radcliffe says she was careful to keep her heart rate in the right zone, ate before and after her workouts, and stayed hydrated. Radcliffe suffered a stress fracture at the base of her spine in May, perhaps as a result of getting back into training too soon.

Should you use Radcliffe as inspiration to keep exercising through pregnancy and after birth? Definitely! But use precautions in how intensely you exercise. Keep moving, but maybe not as fast. Unless you are a seasoned marathoner and seasoned mom, it's probably best to stick with a half marathon goal in baby's first year, just to give yourself time to recover and adjust. And only if you have someone to look after the baby for 4-6 hours a day every weekend.
Walking Through Pregnancy
Training for a Marathon