Where can I find a running bra that supports my new postpartum chest? How can I keep up my training when my toddler is sick and no one is sleeping? What’s the best way to do speed work but still have my phone with me? How in the heck am I gonna find the time OR energy to run?
The Mother Runners is the culmination of these questions constantly running through my head while, well, running.
Chatting with other Mother Runners, I realized I wasn’t alone in these thoughts and dilemmas, and there were few resources to help moms like us: Moms who want to be badass mothers and badass runners.
After all, running makes us better mothers, and vice versa.
At The Mother Runners, you’ll find information for all things at the intersection of running and motherhood brought to you by my personal experiences, research, and conversations with other Mother Runners and experts.
About The Mother Runners
The Mother Runners is a running website and online community founded by me, Whitney Heins, in 2019. I created it to be an informational resource and community-building platform for busy running mothers of all abilities and levels.
In addition to providing quality running and running-related content, I also offer running coaching, provide free running training plans, and I host the Passionate Runner Podcast.
My insights and The Mother Runners have been featured on Nike, SELF magazine, Runner’s World, Women’s Running Magazine, Huffington Post, the recent Born to Run training guide, and many more publications.
About Me
I live in Knoxville, Tennesse and I am a mom to two beautiful and crazy children (6 and 9), two sweet and lovable pups, and a wife to an amazing husband. I am a former TV news journalist, a freelance writer, a VDOT-O2 certified run coach, and a 2:54 marathoner and 1:20 half-marathoner.
I’ve been running since I was 6 years old (more than three decades!). I started when my dad saw me running home from the school bus and thought I looked pretty fast. He began entering me into local races and I continued to compete through high school but stopped short of running competitively in college.
Throughout my life running has been a source of confidence, clarity, and familiarity. Now that my kids are getting older, and my husband, Jake (also a runner), is cheering me on, I’m ready to continue chasing dreams; the biggest of which is running a 2:45 marathon (the 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon qualifying standard).
Related: Lessons Learned From My Running Injury
I have a BA in government from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in Public Relations from the University of Tennessee. While at the University of Tennessee, I worked in PR and served as the university’s science writer. After graduating, I began my career as a political journalist.
I am the host of Runner Click’s The Passionate Runner Podcast and a past regular contributor to Marathon Handbook and RunnerClick. I regularly post videos on Youtube, create content for Instagram, and share additional podcast interviews and honest mother runner discussions on Substack as well.
In the 5 years since I started The Mother Runners, I have had the privilege of collaborating with brands such as UCAN, Gnarly, Bob & Brad, Inside Tracker, & more. My work is sponsored by Previnex and Adidas.
The Why Behind The Mother Runners
I created The Mother Runners as a place for other running mamas – regardless of running experience, times, or goals – to find a community of like-minded people and information on how to support their running and motherhood journey!
Running is an individual sport but when you become a mother, it can require a whole team of people and major schedule finessing to help you get out the door. It can require countless times of crying babies being pulled off you and pre-dawn wake-ups to ensure it happens before the day’s craziness sets in.
Not only does it require dedication and intense motivation to get out the door on those days that sleeping in would be easier, but there are so many questions along your running and motherhood journey. Questions such as:
- Can I run while pregnant?
- What are the best running strollers?
- How do I safely run with a stroller?
- What’s the best way to do speed work but still have my phone with me?
- How do I prevent injuries?
- What is the best gear?
And the list of questions goes on. It’s my goal to speak to the experts, other coaches, researchers, and physical therapists to find the best answers for you. Answers that you can trust to make your running and motherhood journey healthy, fulfilling, rewarding, and fun.
This is all incredibly important because supporting your running is supporting you as a mom. After all, we mother runners know that we would be lesser moms if we didn’t do this for ourselves. Running is our thinking time. Our release time. Our me-time.
My fellow Mother Runners, this site is for you. I’m happy you’re here!
– Whitney
Contact The Mother Runners
Community is a Mother Runners principle, so I always want to hear from you. Get in touch with me by commenting on any of my blog posts or by emailing me at [email protected]. I respond personally to every comment and email that I receive!
If you have a topic you want to be addressed, please please submit it here. I’m a former journalist eager to use my reporting chops to uncover the info and insights you need to reach your goals!
A disclaimer: I’m not a medical doctor (although I do interview them here) so my advice should not be considered as such. I share the results of my own experience, research, and interviews. Please do not take anything you read on this website as a medical directive and always consult your doctor before you put into action any of these tips.
