Manly mother Rachel Crerar second in Coolangatta Gold shortcourse at 15 weeks pregnant
Mum’s the word for this Manly surf lifesaver who has pulled off a remarkable result at the Coolangatta Gold.
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Manly mother Rachel Crerar had a point to prove by doing the shortcourse Coolangatta Gold but even she never expected to finish it on the podium.
But that’s where the 29-year-old found herself after more than two hours of racing in the 21km surf ski, swim, board paddle and run race on the Gold Coast on Sunday.
There were more surprises to come at the finish line with Crerar then revealing she had raced to second place in the two hour plus race while 15 weeks pregnant.
“I wanted to show women don’t have to stop doing what they want to do while pregnant,’’ she said on her return to Sydney after the weekend race.
“There’s a stigma attached sometimes that you stop and do nothing,
“I wanted to show that’s not the case, that you can do anything you set your mind to.’’
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Crerar consulted with her obstetrician who cleared her to race as long as it wasn’t too hot on race day and that she stayed well hydrated.
“If it was too hot or the surf was not OK I wouldn’t have done it,’’ she said.
“There were plenty of people on the course making sure I stayed hydrated.’’
Crerar said she was training for the race when she discovered she was pregnant with her second child.
“I had signed up to the race because I lost my uncle a year ago,’’ said Crerar, raising money for Oesophageal cancer research after the family loss in October 2018.
“I was determined to do the race.’’
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Crerar’s son Ryan, 3, was on hand to congratulate his mum at the end of the testing event race won by Queenslander Courtney Bryant, who is coached by former NSW ironman great Darren Mercer.
Fellow Manly surf life saver Flo Epper finished third in the race.
And while she said she had no issues racing pregnant on Sunday, Crerar said she will definitely be absent from the Australian surf lifesaving championships on the Gold Coast next April.
“I’m due when the Aussies are on, so no, I won’t be there,’’ she said.
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