Over the years, sports and athletes -- both amateur and professional -- have provided numerous inspirational and otherwise memorable storylines. The Chicago Marathon and runner Amber Miller provide one of the latest examples last week.
Miller, who ran the first half of the race and walked the second half, completed the 26.2 mile race in 6 hours, 25 minutes. That's three hours or so longer than her best time. Shortly after completing the race, Miller's contractions started. She delivered a healthy 7-pound, 13-ounce baby a few hours later. Her decision to run the race so late in her pregnancy stirred equal amounts of praise and questions.
There was general praise for Miller's decision to run, particularly since she made it clear that it was choice not made lightly. She sought her doctor's permission and received it. That's not unusual. Doctors agree that exercise during pregnancy is good for pregnant women. The question, of course, is whether an endurance race that tests mind and spirit as well as body crosses the line from healthy exercise to dangerous exertion for pregnant women.
The answer, most doctors agree, is that pregnant women accustomed to recreational or competitive athletics in otherwise healthy condition can run in races, including marathons. Some women, here and elsewhere, do, though not many do so when almost 39 weeks into a pregnancy. Indeed, runners who regularly participate in marathons say the sight of a women in late pregnancy on a marathon course is highly unusual.
Andrew Dorn, a regular marathoner who competed in the 2010 Chicago Marathon and who is manager of Front Runner Athletics here, says he has seen women in the early stages of pregnancy successfully complete long-distance races, but he has never witnessed a runner in the late stages of pregnancy compete in a marathon. That might change soon, given Miller's recent run.
To be sure, pregnant women should not run in marathons or engage in other forms of exercise without their physicians' permission. The fact that more women are seeking that permission and then running is an indication of both advances in medicine and in the way pregnancy is perceived by society.
Not so long ago, most pregnant women remained sedentary during the earlier stages of their pregnancies. In the later stages, they stayed home. The general public preferred it that way. No more.
The sight of a pregnant women in public is accepted these days, though there are still a few barriers for them to challenge and to overcome. Miller's inspirational run and walk, undertaken with the approval of physician and family, shattered one of them.