Your Guide to Postpartum Running

Here's how to get marathon-ready in no time!

By Deborah Bohn

In this article:
When Can I Resume Running?
How Fast? How Far?
Advice for Newbies
Get Good Gear
Baby on Board
Have Fun!

Wondering when it is safe to don your running shoes and hit the road after giving birth? Take a few notes from the experts and learn how to safely resume your running regime.

Whether you're a seasoned racer wondering when you can enter that next marathon, an advanced runner curious about how you'll return to the road after giving birth, or a newbie thinking of lacing up your shoes to get back in shape, you'll need to follow a few simple guidelines to help balance your new parenting role with your need for speed.

When Can I Resume Running?

While some women continue running throughout pregnancy, many switch over to a less intense form of exercise, and most are eager to start pounding the pavement as soon as possible after Baby arrives. But an early return to the road isn't necessarily the healthiest decision.

Dr. Tom Bartsokas, MD, a sports medicine specialist, has worked with the US Olympic Committee and frequently treats athletes for sports-related injuries. A runner himself, Dr. Bartsokas understands the urge to feel the wind on your face with a good run, but he cautions new mothers to wait until their bodies have completely healed from childbirth, which means about six weeks for a vaginal delivery and eight weeks for a C-section.

"Run when you can have sex again," he says. When your sutures have been removed or you've stopped bleeding are also good signals that you're ready to go.

Dr. Cindy Woodall, MD, is an obstetrician, a mother of two, and a runner training for her first marathon. She agrees with the six- to eight-week recommendation and says that running before you're ready can exacerbate the damage that's been done during delivery. "Your stitches can pull. You can get a hernia," she warns. "Everything is fresh and trying to heal. You could impede the healing process."

Some women ignore doctors' recommendations and go by how they feel physically, but this can have mixed results. Molly Brown-Boulet, 36, is a distance runner and triathlete with three children under the age of seven. She started running about three weeks after the birth of her second child but saw a noticeable increase in postpartum bleeding, so she had to back off for a bit. When her third child was born less than two years ago, she only cooled her heels for a week before running again and says she felt great.

Brown-Boulet remembers, "Toward the end of my pregnancy, I was only running about three miles, but I would have to stop occasionally. Then after having Gabrielle, I felt so good from losing 25 pounds of baby and water weight! I felt so light, like I was flying on air."