'I ran an ultra-marathon while breast pumping, and I still won'

"I've shown that even if you want to go out and do just a 5K or a half marathon, you're not going to be hindered whatsoever if you've got a baby to feed or you're pregnant."

Meet the super mum who ran a whopping 100-kilometre ultramarathon while breast pumping - and won.

Sophie Carter, 43, from Oxford in the UK, is a mum of five, and she didn't want her eight-month-old son Teddy to go without milk while she undertook the mammoth race last month, so decided to express while running.

The mum, who has been running marathons since 2005, said this was no mean feat and found it more draining than when she completed races of the same length while pregnant because it required more from her body. 

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"When I was running pregnant, I felt like my body was being nourished and fed well because it was growing the baby,” she said.

"Running while breastfeeding felt harder, ironically, because I was giving my resources to feed my baby. I had to drink a lot more and be more conscious of hydrating. 

"With a new baby, you're getting a lot less sleep because you're up in the night feeding, and that made it harder too."  

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Sophie during the marathon with her breast pump. Picture: Caters News

"I wasn't sure how it was going to work"

Sophie, who won the 100km Race to the Stones from Lewknor to Avebury, UK, with an incredible time of just nine hours, 50 minutes and 25 seconds, expressed milk thanks to the hands-free Elvie Pump.

She explained this didn't get in the way of her run the way a manual pump would have, and she handed the milk to her partner at intervals throughout the race.

Sophie admitted that while she always planned to do her best, she didn't expect to win while putting so much extra strain on her body. 

"I did originally think that I wouldn't be able to run the race while breastfeeding - that it was too far,” she said. 

“If I'd had to stop and feed, I wasn't sure how it was going to work."

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Sophie holding Teddy after her race. Picture: Caters News

"It's just amazing what your body can do"

Sophie said she then found her special Elvie Pump which would work at just the touch of a button.

"I think it maybe affected my speed a bit, just with having the pump on and passing the milk over. 

"I knew that I was fit and I had trained for the event, but you kind of still doubt yourself thinking, 'Oh, well, I don't know what's gonna happen’.

"But on the day, I got into the right zone, and it helped knowing that my baby was being looked after because he had got his milk.   

"I fed Teddy with my breast at the finish line as well. It's just amazing what your body can do."

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Sophie said her breast pump may have affected her speed a little bit, but clearly not enough to stop her from winning the race. Picture: Caters News

"It's quite important for women to know what is possible"

Sophie's not sure if she's the only person in the world to have run an ultramarathon while expressing milk, but she has shared her experience with a researcher to help other people - and show that it won't hinder anyone breastfeeding from running long distances if they want to. 

"I haven't had any criticism for running while expressing. Everyone has just been like, 'Wow, that's amazing. I don't know how you did it’,” Sophie said.

"I contacted a professor doing research in the area, as it's quite important for women to know what is and isn't possible. 

"I've shown that even if you want to go out and do just a 5K or a half marathon, you're not going to be hindered whatsoever if you've got a baby to feed or you're pregnant."

Originally published as 'I ran an ultra-marathon while breast pumping, and I still won'