Meet Amelia Rivera-Wong, DPT by day, badass endurance athlete, wife to Andy, and new mom to her beautiful son Cameron all the rest of the time.

Amelia's competitive drive was forged as a kid doing crunch competitions with her twin before bedtime and spending long hours at their town community pool. Her mom ran 3 NYC marathons—one for each of her daughters—and that left an indelible mark. All those pool hours prepared her to swim D1 in college and led her to triathlon—where she signed up for an Ironman at Lake Placid on a dare—completing her very first marathon to finish in a monsoon. Her hardcore, badass credentials were fully established.

But when she qualified for her 1st Boston—and subsequently got pregnant and calculated the timing—she knew she was in uncharted waters. It felt like she was going down a rabbit hole. Seemingly everyone with no medical creds had an opinion on what was 'safe' or could potentially harm her baby. Even some of the medical advice didn't make sense and she ultimately decided to follow the same rule she tells her patients as a DPT and as a runner: "listen to your body."

She found a sherpa on Facebook who shared her marathon running pregnancy journey and exchanged tips on finding a good pelvic floor PT, taping, belly braces, and even some advice on the Boston course. She kept her circle super small and found a local training partner to lean on and travel to the start line with.

Amelia ran Boston at 31 weeks pregnant, had an incredible experience, and got it DONE with baby Cameron in tow. (I think he deserves a medal, too!)

I am so grateful for Amelia coming on, being so open, and sharing the emotional roller coaster of her experiences so candidly.

We took a deep dive into the challenges of breastfeeding, how she cross-trained and tried to mitigate injuries, and postpartum running. Amelia is now sharing her experiences on Facebook with other moms to help pay it forward.

For every mom-to-be or mom with children already who might be facing this decision, there are so many lessons to unpack in this episode. Please share with anyone that you think this could help!

If you enjoy the episode, it would mean the world to me if you would rate the podcast or write a review and share feedback wherever you get your podcast groove on.

Connect With Amelia:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ameriver8

Connect With Ron:

Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronrunsnyc

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runchats_with_ronrunsnyc

Facebook: https://fb.me/runchats

Website: https://ronrunsnyc.com

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Produced by: David Margittai | In Post Media

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© 2023 Ron Romano