Fatherhood doesn’t have to force you to hang up your running shoes. Just ask Matt Lemon, who holds the world record for running the fastest half-marathon while pushing a stroller.
Hailing from a family of hardcore runners, Matt ran competitively at high school and college. He met his wife, Maura, at the University of Dayton, Ohio where she was also a serious competitor at both cross-country and track. Together they gradually began to focus on the half and full marathon as their primary race distances (Matt’s best half-marathon time is a scarily quick 1:06:16, his best marathon: 2:22:41).
And then parenthood came along.
Fortunately, instead of derailing their training schedules, Matt and Maura got a running stroller instead. “It’s been a great help to allow Maura and I to keep training and still see each other,” Matt says. “It allows us to get together more as a family without sacrificing our running.”
TFH: When did you attempt to break the half-marathon world record?
Matt: I kept running with Maggie regularly as it made it much easier for me to plan runs. Then, after having a successful year of running solo and with the stroller in 2016, I was able to convince the Ohio River Road Runners Club to let me attempt the world record at the Xenia, Ohio Half Marathon. Surprisingly, many marathons have fairly strict policies against running strollers, purportedly for safety reasons, so that took quite a bit of searching.
Leading up to the attempt, I ran quite a few tempos and workouts with my brother, Chris, while pushing Maggie in the stroller. The day of the half-marathon, I kept a fairly consistent pace and pushed Maggie to win the race and break the record with a time of 1:10:41.
I hope that my example will help bring more race directors and boards around on the matter so that other people have the opportunity to participate with a stroller, no matter the ability level.
TFH: How much does running with a single stroller affect your performance?
Matt: Most people see running with a stroller as a pretty serious burden to throw in. The secret is that it’s not something to be scared of. It slows down my comfortable easy pace by 15-30 seconds, but it is doable. I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy getting some “oohs” and “aahs” at races from being up toward the top of the field despite having a kid in front of me. Enjoy it. It’s a great way to continue doing what you love and getting your kid(s) outside.
TFH: What tips do you have about running with a stroller when it comes to technique?
Matt: When I first started, I tried alternating which arm I used to push – that made me a bit awkward with turns. After a while, I settled into primarily just pushing with the right arm and letting the left swing as normal, that helped me to start taking turns more gracefully. Just a little downward pressure on the handle bar helps turn a locked-wheel single stroller enough for most turns.
Another simple thing to improve your performance is to insure you have decent tire pressure – otherwise that can slow you down or pull the stroller to one side or the other. With a double-stroller, the alignment of the front wheel is sometimes a little tricky, but if you find yourself constantly fighting the pull to one side or the other, it’s best to realign it.
