By: Julia Reid-Howell

Fredericton, NB

Running Background

Growing up in the village of River John, in rural Nova Scotia, there were not a lot of extracurricular options, so with the support from my parents, I immersed myself in every sport and club available. Track and Field was one of the only school sports provided at my P-9 school, and with my competitive nature, I participated fully in this. I enjoyed running all distances, especially sprints, as well as high jump and long jump. In Elementary school, I would wear my “lucky winter toque” during the warm June track meets, which must have worked, as I broke a 20-year old 60m sprint record. My parents saw how much I enjoyed it, and enrolled me in a running club in New Glasgow (45 minutes from home) for a summer. I learned more about the sport and what proper activation and warm up looked like. While in Middle School, I had the opportunity to advance from districts to regionals, then onward to Atlantics. I continued to enjoy Track and Field in High School (along with hockey, wrestling , soccer, softball and basketball). Looking back now, I wish that I had tried out for the Cross Country and Track and Field team at StFX University, where I completed my undergraduate degree, but instead took a 4-year hiatus from running. 

I began casually running again when studying for my Bachelor of Education degree at UNB Fredericton in 2017, but it wasn't until my husband and I were living and teaching in Tampico, Mexico, that I began truly running again. I participated in my first 5k race in Madero, Mexico in 2018, placing 1st Female in 27 minutes, the rush brought me back to my track days, and I became hooked again. I trained for the same 5k race the following year, where I placed 1st Female again, in 21 minutes. Then, COVID hit and we returned to Canada. It was during lockdown where I put all my stress and anxiety into running; creating my own personal goals and participating in Virtual Races from 5k to Half Marathon distances, getting faster felt like a huge accomplishment and a good distraction while the world was in chaos. In 2023, I received a message on Strava from a well-known local runner, Mary Bartlett, asking me if I would like to be trained by coach Greg Allan, which I of course, said yes to! I have found such a strong sense of belonging in the running community since becoming a member of the Fredericton V-MAXXERs, and have learned so much more about the sport in these last 3 years. 

Motherhood & Training

When I found out that I was pregnant in January of 2024, I vowed to myself that if it was safe, I would run as long as I could. I feel very lucky that I was able to run up until the night my water broke! My family still jokes with me that when they came to our house when we went to the hospital, my race outfit for the Fredericton Fall Classic 5k was laid out, which was happening that weekend! 72 hours of labour and an unplanned C-Section later, my life as I knew it changed for the better.  I was not sure what my return to running would look like, but I followed all doctor recommendations, went to pelvic floor physio, and eased back into it at 6-weeks postpartum. Most days, I would run on my treadmill while my baby napped, and it would feel like a treat to run outside when my husband was home on the weekends. I built my base back up and in January 2025, began training once a week with my team again, slowly building my fitness and speed, with the ambitious goal to run the Elite 5k at 7.5 months postpartum.  There were (and sometimes still are) always so many emotions when I would leave to go for a workout, race, or long run; even though I was exhausted, I would feel so grateful to be able to be moving my body and my anxieties would ease, but sometimes, I would feel guilt for leaving my baby, or stressed that she needed me, or needed to be nursed. I am forever grateful for my husband for supporting me and encouraging me to continue running through postpartum, as I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him. 

Breastfeeding while training was a whole new world for me; from waking up every 2-4 hours for 14 months, to making sure I was well hydrated and eating enough calories, pumping on the way to races (or on the top of Smokey at Cabot), or forgetting to pump and trying to run (IYKYK).  I never would have thought in January 2025, that I would be nominated, let alone win, The 2025 Female Runner of the Year, in the same year that my husband and I would take turns driving around in the wee hours of the morning, so our baby would sleep. Looking back, it sometimes feels like a fever dream. Motherhood has given me a whole new outlook and appreciation on running and now, every time I see a mother in a race or out for a run, I have such a deeper appreciation for her, because now I understand what goes on behind the scenes and what it takes to get to that start line, in a body that feels almost foreign.

When my daughter was old enough to go in our running stroller, I felt a huge inner shift; I was now able to do something I loved, with this little human I loved, and she enjoyed it from the very start; sometimes we would take our dog, and she would think it was hilarious! We braved the weather, ran at the Fredericton ParkRun, and sometimes, running with the stroller would be the only way I could get her to nap…one day in December, she refused to nap in her crib, so I told myself I would run until she woke up - we ran a half marathon that day! She especially loves when I take her to the track and run fast, my teammates make her laugh, and she loves watching them as she is being pushed in the stroller. 

World Record 

     The idea came to me during a run with some friends. I had done a ParkRun with the stroller the previous weekend, and decided to look up the “Fastest 5k” with a stroller (which there is no official World Record for, but unofficial time is 19:08), to compare my time with, which inevitably turned into a rabbit hole of looking up all of the stroller World Records. I saw that the 1k Female time was 3:35.14, which didn’t feel like too far of a stretch for me based on my current fitness. I shared the idea with the ladies, who all jumped on board immediately and encouraged me to apply to do it. I applied at the end of October and then everything began to feel much more real. I didn't tell many people, and slowly began adding stroller workouts to my program.  There were various hoops to jump through and rules to follow; I required specific insurance for the event at the Base Indoor Track, and because the attempt had to be videographed, the date had to be when there were no other rentals or Field House events happening. Guinness required a surveyed course or track, 2 timekeepers and two independent witnesses present, video footage, photos from different angles, and I was required to use a stroller that was commercially available and unmodified (which I had borrowed from another mom, as my stroller's front wheel lock broke off and wouldn't be accepted, nor safe, to use at that speed). I saw that a few of the world record stroller holders were sponsored by stroller companies, which intimidated me a bit as they worked closely with Guinness to ensure all specific rules were followed.., I must have read the Guide to Evidence and Rules 100 times to make sure I wasn't missing anything. In January, I did a time trial during a team workout, and ran a 3:27. I was shocked that I broke the record during a workout, and it gave me the confidence that I could actually do this thing! Unfortunately, soon after, our house was hit with gastro and then a few weeks after that, my daughter had RSV…I was beyond exhausted and my confidence had been squished, but we finally had a date set, and I was eager to do the attempt before my Maternity Leave was up and I headed back to the Art Classroom after March Break.  

     For the attempt, I did not want to cause a huge commotion at the track, and felt that if I invited lots of people, I would feel more nervous, so I set up a Facebook Live for my family, friends and some fellow runners. I had my timekeepers, witnesses, husband and some teammates, who generously took photos, videos and cheered.  The UNB track team, who use the track for practice, were respectful and encouraging as I did the attempt as well. Each lap, people would cheer and my daughter would clap and kick her legs! We took her socks and shoes off prior to the start, as she is notorious for throwing them. I would just look down and think “is this real, am I actually trying to break a world record?”. The image of her little legs kicking, hair blowing, and hands clapping will be engraved in my mind forever. Even if Guinness does not approve my record (though, I really, really hope they do), I want to walk away from this experience with a sense of pride from doing something out of the ordinary that hopefully down the road, my daughter will think is pretty cool.