We already know that moms are superheroes, whether they’re coming up with clever responses to stressful situations or stepping in to be parents for those in need.
And in the world of superhero moms, Cynthia Lauren Arnold’s superpower is that she can run fast — really fast — while pushing her whole crew in a stroller. In July, the 34-year-old mother of three broke the world record for pushing a three-child jogging stroller in a half marathon — by nearly 20 minutes.
Triple-Child Running Record Falls Twice
Arnold pushed her three kids, ages 6, 3 and 11 months (at the time of the race), to the record on the 13.1-mile course of the Missoula Marathon on July 15. “I went after it because I felt confident that I could beat the previous record, and I also felt like it would be so neat for my kids to know we did this together, especially when they are older,” she told Fleet Feet.
Ashlee Eskelsen set the previous record of 1:47:32 earlier this year, pushing her three kids — ages 4, 2 and 4 months at the time — to the record in Montgomery, Alabama.
Arnold’s time shaves nearly 20 minutes off Eskelsen’s record, but she still needs to file the paperwork to make the record official with the Guinness Book of World Records. Since she captured every minute of her race on a video camera attached to the stroller, she should have the verification Guinness needs to make it official.
Her accomplishment caught the attention of fellow runner and mom Deena Kastor. The world-class marathoner shared this Tweet congratulating Arnold:
I nominate this mom for Mother-of-the-year as she pushed her three kids to a world record today at the #MissoulaMarathon half marathon. These kids have bragging rights for a long time! pic.twitter.com/BBAXyKiK8V
— Deena Kastor (@DeenaKastor) July 15, 2018
Stroller Time Is Family Time
Arnold is a veteran runner, having competed in track and cross country in high school and college. She takes her 150-pound stroller setup on daily runs in Polson, Montana, where the family lives. Arnold runs her three kids to school in the stroller, and her husband runs to work.
“Being in the stroller for runs is a quiet time for them,” she told Fleet Feet. “They can talk to each other and look around, take a nap. I’ve read a lot of research about the benefits of quiet time and children aren’t getting enough of that time anymore — which hurts imagination and creativity.”
During this particular run, the kids had a water bottle and lollipops as well as the excitement of the spectators and surrounding sights to keep them occupied until the finish line.
Sharing the moment with her children was the highlight for Arnold. She told Runner’s World, “It was more of a parent moment than a running moment.”