Can you run during pregnancy? Should you? And what does returning to running after having a baby actually look like? In this International Women’s Day special of The Runna Podcast, Anya sits down with Hannah and Em from Twice The Health – runners, training partners, and founders of the Twice The Health community.
At the time of recording, Em was pregnant and still adapting her training, while Hannah was nearly a year postpartum and finding her way back to competitive running. Em also brings her perspective as a qualified nutritionist, sharing how fueling and hydration can support runners through pregnancy and beyond.
Together they talk openly about adapting training, navigating expectations, and balancing motherhood with performance.
What becomes clear is that there isn’t one “right” way to approach running during pregnancy or postpartum. Some runners continue moving comfortably. Others need weeks, or months, away from training. Most fall somewhere in between.
If you’re thinking about returning to running after having a baby, Runna’s post-natal training plan is designed to help you rebuild safely and confidently.
What This Episode Explores
What actually changes when you keep running during pregnancy
How fatigue, nausea and physical changes can affect training
The role nutrition and hydration play during pregnancy and postpartum
Why returning to running after birth looks different for every runner
The pressure many women feel to “bounce back” after having a baby
How runners can stay connected to movement through major life changes
Listen to the episode for the lived experience behind these themes.
Running Without Expectations
One of the most interesting themes in this episode is how quickly expectations can shift once pregnancy begins. Many runners assume they’ll continue training exactly the same way - until their body tells them otherwise.
For Hannah, running remained a consistent part of pregnancy, even if pace slowed and training became less structured. She continued running significant mileage relative to her usual training and even paced marathons during the early stages of pregnancy.
For Em, the experience looked completely different. Weeks of fatigue and nausea meant stepping away from running and gradually rebuilding movement as her body adapted. The takeaway isn’t that one experience is better than the other. It’s that pregnancy rarely follows a predictable training plan.
The Reality of Returning to Running
Returning to running after giving birth brings a whole new set of challenges.
Recovery timelines vary widely depending on pregnancy, delivery, and individual health – something Hannah experienced firsthand as she gradually built back towards running with guidance from a women’s health physiotherapist.
But the biggest adjustment wasn’t just physical. It was learning how to balance training, recovery, work, relationships, and life with a newborn. Time becomes more limited. Sleep becomes less predictable. And sometimes, simply getting out for a run becomes something you appreciate in a completely different way.
A New Perspective on Running
One of the most powerful reflections in the episode is how motherhood can shift your relationship with running entirely. Before having a baby, performance goals can dominate training. Afterwards, the perspective can change. Running becomes time for yourself again -– a moment of space in a life that suddenly looks very different.
And sometimes, that shift leads to surprising results. Hannah returned to racing six months postpartum and ran one of her strongest marathons, not because everything was perfect, but because the pressure had changed.
Less expectation, more gratitude, and a reminder that running will still be there, even when life changes around it.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Watch on YouTube.