Finish Marathon, Give Birth: Works for Her

You have to give it up for a woman who runs a marathon even though she's 38 weeks pregnant.

The sheer exhaustion that Amber Miller of Westchester, Ill., must have felt as she persevered through the last few miles of the Chicago Marathon puts a shudder down my spine. Her back must have been killing her, especially since she finished in an unusually (for her) slow 6 hours, 25 minutes, 50 seconds.

She took care to eat lots of food and drink lots of fluid along the way, which is good because she would have needed the extra energy after the race — when she went into labor.

Yes, the mother of one felt contractions mere moments after crossing the finish line and ended up at the hospital, enduring contractions for just a few more hours before delivering a healthy baby girl, named June, who weighed in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces.

Now, Amber didn't run the entire 26.2 miles. She had been under doctor's instructions to run only half the way, so she ran a bit, walked a bit, which is why it took her so long to finish. She finished the Wisconsin marathon earlier in the year in a time of 4:23:07. In fact, she was pregnant with June at that time as well, although the baby was only 17 weeks along at that point.

In fact, running pregnant has become something of a habit for Amber, who ran the Indianapolis Marathon two years ago in 4:30:07, while she was 18 weeks pregnant with her son, Caleb.

Distance running definitely runs in the family.