&Mother Launches Charity Racing Team for New York City Marathon
Last fall, dozens of nursing mothers were able to participate in the TCS New York City Marathon with a new layer of much-needed support. In partnership with New York Road Runners (NYRR), the organization that hosts the world's largest marathon, &Mother provided five on-course lactation spaces that enabled runners to compete at their best while thriving in their motherhood.
For runners like Kseniya Gadh, a health coach and mom of two, that support alleviated her worries around pumping on race day, making for an all-around easier experience. "It was a huge relief not to think about checking [my pump] in and then retrieving it at the end," she told Runner's World. "It was my first marathon so taking that anxiety off was helpful."
In addition to providing the same lactation services, &Mother is returning to the Big Apple this fall as an official charity partner of the New York City Marathon with a racing team that includes 14 fierce advocates of maternal rights.
Led by our founder and CEO Alysia Montaño, who is returning after making her 26.2 debut in New York last year, the charity team includes author and activist Alison Désir, coach and former professional distance runner Lauren Fleshman, and founder Randi Zuckerberg, among other community leaders and &Mother supporters.
"Supporting the NYRR team with lactation support over the past year has been a great learning experience for us all, and I am looking forward to using this experience to expand &Mother's support at other races of all distances, and move our lactation support to other sports," Montaño said. "I am also really looking forward to running the marathon again, especially with such a great team, so we can all build more awareness around &Mother and our mission."
In the weeks leading up to the New York City Marathon on November 5, the charity team will receive training resources and support from a team of experts, including strength and run coach Jess Movold; pelvic and orthopedic physical therapist Dr. Sam DuFlo, PT, DPT; and sports nutritionist Mel Sulaver, MS, RD, CISSN.
Throughout the marathon journey, the charity team aims to raise $200,000 for &Mother with the goal of providing more systemic support to caregivers around the world. The fundraising efforts will directly support our work that seeks to break barriers that limit a woman's choice to pursue and thrive in career and motherhood. Thanks in part to partnerships with companies and organizations aligned with our mission, including Bobbie and Vita Coco, we've expanded our event standardization program so more races have lactation and caregiver support; awarded more maternity and family support grants to professional athletes; and launched a new Black Maternal Health Grant this year.
Follow &Mother on social media to learn more about the charity team's progress, training resources from our support squad, and our latest initiatives.
