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Suzy Goodwin, 35, has always been a runner. Now, even as a mother with a three-year-old son and 14-month-old triplets, she's determined to complete more marathons before she calls it quits. Right now, she has 50 marathons and ultramarathons under her belt.
Her latest accomplishment is, admittedly, only a half marathon, but a half marathon she completed while pushing her triplets in a 3.5-foot wide, 120-lb. stroller the entire time.
Of course, Goodwin didn't necessarily run and train specifically for this marathon. In her eyes, "running...grows with you" as a sport. "When you become a parent, it’s less individual and more something you can share with your kids," she explained.
Goodwin had taken her first son on runs in his stroller when he was younger and now is doing the same for her triplets: Charlotte, Gabriel, and Gideon. She's thrilled that all four of her kids enjoy running with her in their stroller as much as she enjoys taking them outside into the community in a healthy way.
“[The triplets] like taking in the sights and sounds at a race. They typically nap really well afterward, having engaged with all of their senses," she said.
During the half marathon — specifically the North Carolina Halloween Marathon — the triplets were just as thrilled to be outside, but there were a few moments where Goodwin admitted she had to slow down to return toys to their rightful owners and do a much needed diaper change.
This race, however, wasn't just an experience for Goodwin to share with her triplets.
She also participated in the marathon to raise money for the local NICU unit, the precise unit where her triplets stayed for the first two months of their lives after being prematurely born.
"My husband had just returned from Afghanistan and the babies went through a lot of ups and downs as they learned to regulate their own body temperatures, feed and breathe on their own," she recalled. "God did great things through the nurses, respiratory therapists and neonatologists in the NICU, who were part clinician and part counselor for us.”
And to top it all off? Goodwin may soon become the Guinness World Record holder of the quickest half-marathon time with a triple stroller: two hours, one minute, and 19 seconds.
The evidence is still pending, but Goodwin has sent in videos, photos, as well as witness statements in hopes that the judges will accept her submission. We have our fingers crossed that she earns this well-deserved title!
