Canadian wins 100-km ultramarathon while stopping to breastfeed her baby along the way

Natalie Stechyson · CBC News

· Posted: May 26, 2025 1:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Imagine moving a gruelling 100-kilometre way contention done the rugged terrain of bluish Wales.

Did we already suffer you? Well, double-knot your sneakers, due to the fact that now imagine doing it six months postpartum, stopping to breastfeed your babe astatine assistance stations on the way and inactive winning the full darn thing.

That's what Canadian ultrarunner Stephanie Case did astatine the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia on May 17, wherever she placed archetypal among women with a clip of 16:53:22 and made headlines astir the satellite for the viral contention photos wherever she's breastfeeding her six-month-old daughter, Pepper.

After taking the past 3 years disconnected from racing, and starting 30 minutes down the elite runners, Case says she shocked adjacent herself with the winning spot time.

"I couldn't judge it. I deliberation I had to inquire the contention organizers astir 10 times," Case, 42, who was calved successful Kingston, Ont., told CBC News from France.

"Once I crossed the enactment and they did the calculations, they had to inquire maine to spell backmost and decorativeness again for the cameras truthful that I could tally done the tape! It was specified a surprise."

Case, a longtime ultrarunner, had primitively considered the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia her "practice race" successful the lead-up to the Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run, an astir 100-mile (161-kilometre), high-altitude contention successful Colorado successful July. After her three-year pause, Case says she was tense astir remembering however to contention properly and wasn't definite however her legs would respond.

"I wanted a accidental to shingle disconnected the cobwebs," she said.

"I besides wanted to spot however Pepper would bash successful a contention that was lone astir fractional the clip committedness arsenic Hardrock. At 17 hours, it was inactive the longest I had been distant from Pepper, though."

Switching backmost to 'mom mode'

But however did she negociate the logistics of breastfeeding during a 17-hour race?

There are 7 checkpoints passim the people wherever runners tin drink, usage the washrooms and sometimes eat. At 2 of those — the 20-kilometre and 80-kilometre checkpoints — runners are allowed assistance from a enactment person. Case's spouse John met her with Pepper astatine those 2 checkpoints.

In addition, Case requested peculiar support to supply (not receive) assistance to her babe astatine the 50-kilometre checkpoint. But arsenic the authoritative runner's usher points out, your elapsed contention clip doesn't intermission astatine the checkpoints, and each 1 has a cut-off clip you person to debar if you privation to support racing.

The 50-kilometre checkpoint was the trickiest, Case said, due to the fact that John wasn't allowed to assistance her with refilling her bottles, getting her nutrient oregon thing other she mightiness request astatine the aid station. But the volunteers were precise supportive, she added.

To absorption connected Pepper, Case says she had to unit herself to power from contention mode to "mom mode."

"I didn't privation to cognize wherever I was successful the rankings for this crushed arsenic I didn't privation to unreserved Pepper," Case said, adding that the babe kept getting distracted by the crinkly noises of her contention bib.

"It was pugnacious saying goodbye. At 1 point, I could archer she conscionable wanted a cuddle, and it astir broke maine to permission her, though I knew John was doing an astonishing occupation taking attraction of her each day," she said.

WATCH | 10 marathons successful 10 days: 

Don't telephone it a comeback

In a viral station connected Instagram, Case wrote that determination is nary "comeback" aft childbirth — lone the adjacent phase. And it looks antithetic for everyone. 

Her ain adjacent signifier comes aft a three-year racing intermission arsenic she dealt with fertility struggles, Case explained to CBC News.

Her past large contention was successful 2022 astatine the Hardrock. Shortly aft moving it 3 years agone (placing 2nd among women and 19th overall), Case realized she was pregnant and past miscarried. From there, she had much miscarriages and past IVF implantation failures.

"My narration with moving wholly changed during this time. There is inactive truthful overmuch silence, shame and stigma astir infertility, and respective radical questioned whether moving had contributed to my problems," Case said.

While determination is nary subject to backmost that claim, it enactment a effect of uncertainty successful her brain, she said, and she recovered herself lacing up her moving shoes little and less.

"Coming backmost to moving postpartum, I conscionable wanted to observe that joyousness again and reconnect with the halfway portion of my individuality that was a runner done and through."

'We request to enactment amended to enactment caller moms'

As radical proceed to stock Case's communicative and breastfeeding photos, she says that if her show helps unfastened up much abstraction for caller moms to prosecute things that marque them consciousness "whole and complete," she's delighted.

"Everyone seems to person an sentiment astir however caller moms should beryllium spending their time," Case said.

"I deliberation it's hard for caller moms to springiness themselves support to instrumentality clip for themselves and to proceed to strive for large goals."

But astatine the aforesaid time, she said she's heard from other women who interest stories similar hers proceed to acceptable impossibly precocious standards astir radical simply can't reach. And she gets it. (In her Instagram post, she shares that adjacent though she's physically OK after childbirth, acknowledgment to a batch of pelvic level work, she inactive mislaid each bladder power astir 95 kilometres into the race).

"There's this thought that we should beryllium capable to bash it all, and honestly, it takes a batch conscionable to support your caput connected consecutive arsenic a caller ma astir days," Case said.

"Ultimately, we arsenic a nine request to enactment amended to enactment caller moms successful uncovering their ain way successful motherhood, and trim the judgement connected what that looks like."