For the Record

 

When Rachel Bowling of Ridgeland, South Carolina, lined up at the starting line of a 10K race a couple weeks ago she had success in mind.  She had been training with the intent of setting a new world record, and she believed she could do it.

Bowling had plenty of support along.  Her brother was there.  Her husband was there.  And their daughters were there.

Rachel ran her heart out and crossed the finish line in a very impressive time…and her daughters finished just ahead of her.

Her one- and three-year old daughters.

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Rachel had been running for exercise before she became a mother, which is the time when many women run completely out of time and energy for working out.  Not her.  She knew that the old, “I’ll start exercising again when the kids are big enough,” often leads to other roadblocks.

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I was in pretty good shape when I got out of the Marines, regularly running a first class PFT (Physical Fitness Test).  Running wasn’t my best part of the test.  I normally maxed the score for chin-ups and sit-ups, but I always ran about an 18:30 three mile run.  That’s good enough for first class, but about 30 seconds from a perfect run.

After my release from active duty I kept up a passable running routine and, when Annie and I married, I convinced her to run with me.  We kept it up even after Scotty was born.

We bought one of the first jog strollers so Scotty was able to go with us.  He loved it, sometimes sleeping during our runs or walks.  Next came J.B.  Double strollers existed but were not commonly available so our days of running together came to an end.  Later we added the twins, Bobby and T.J., then Andy and, finally, Patrick.

By the time our youngest joined us, time for running was basically non-existent.  Energy was even less available.

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Maybe Rachel is smarter than us or maybe she’s more dedicated.  Anyway she kept training after her first daughter, Addy, was born three years ago.  Then came Autumn, about a year ago.

“After my second baby … I started running with a double stroller so I was able to take both girls. I’d run with them in the stroller two to three times a week for 45 minutes or less,” Bowling said in a recent interview.

About the same time Autumn was born Ms. Bowling happened across an article in a running magazine that piqued her interest.

She says, “(I saw) a special about another mom breaking a stroller record. So I was like, ‘Huh, that sounds interesting. I’m going to check that out.’”

And she did.

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Rachael found that the world record for running a 10K (6.2 miles) was 44:45.  She felt like beating that was an achievable goal for her, so she started training for it last September.  Progress went as planned and her excitement and confidence grew.

She set her sights on trying to break the record at the LowCountry Habitat for Humanity’s Resolution Run which was scheduled for this past January 12.

Then she had some of my kind of luck.

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On January 11, Rachael sprained her ankle.  Yup, that was the day before she had planned to make her assault on the world record.

Unless it’s a relatively mild injury you are not supposed to run on a sprained ankle.

What’s a potential record-breaker to do?

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As you already know, Rachel lined up to run the race the next day.  Addy and Autumn were comfortably in place in their stroller.

When the start was sounded, they were off.  Careful not to trip up another runner, Bowling ran until the competition thinned.  One mile, two, three…  At six miles she felt the record within reach.

The trio crossed the finish line in 42:34.55.  Rachel had broken the world record by almost two minutes!

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“It was a tough race …” Rachel said.  “When I realized I had gotten the record, I was just ecstatic.  I just couldn’t believe we’d done it.  It was very exciting.

“I felt so proud and so much joy because my husband was there, my brother was there. They were so motivational during the run, just pushing me and cheering me on,” she says. “The girls were so good. It’s like everything just came together.”

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What did Addy and Autumn think about the race while Momma was running it?  “The 1-year-old, Autumn, she slept the whole time. The older daughter, she did not sleep but she was talking, looking around. At one point she was singing. That really brought a smile to my face. We finished, they got out and went right to the playground.

“When the girls get older I can say, ‘Look what we did! We broke a world record!’”

Yes Rachel, you did.

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It will take about three months for Guiness to recognize Bowling’s new record, according to one account.

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In closing, Rachel said, “Even if I can just inspire one mom, one dad, to get out there with their kids and do something for them and show their kids how important it is to be active, then all of this will be worth it,” she explained.

I can’t decide for Ms. Bowling if it’s worth it or not.  All I can offer is a heartfelt, “Way to go, Rachel!  Keep on running…

“and don’t forget to take the kids!”

 

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