2 moms in their late 30s set American marathon, half-marathon records
Sara Hall and Keira D'Amato set records at races in Houston on Jan. 17, 2022.
Two moms have just become America's newest longest-distance record holders.
Keira D'Amato, a 37-year-old mother of two, set the American women's marathon record Sunday with a 2:19:12 finish at the Chevron Houston Marathon in Houston, Texas.
Also on Sunday, Sarah Hall, a 38-year-old mother of four, set the American women's half-marathon record with a time of 1:07:15 at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon.
Hall set the record exactly 15 years after her husband and coach, Ryan Hall, set the American men's half-marathon record in the same race, a record he still holds.
The Halls adopted four daughters in 2015, after which Sarah Hall kept training and competing. She said after the race Sunday that it was not lost on her what both she and D'Amato had accomplished as mothers.
“What’s special about this moment for both of us today is that we both have kids, we both have a lot going on in our lives and I think people can relate to that,” said Hall, according to Women's Running magazine. “All the masses out there today, hopefully they’re seeing [we] can accomplish [our] goals…we can create that time for ourselves and do that.”
D'Amato, an All-American runner in college, took a seven-year break from running after sustaining an ankle injury and then becoming a mom to her two kids, now ages 5 and 7.
She began running again in 2016 as a way to get some time for herself while her husband was deployed with the Air National Guard and she was a single parent, according to Houston ABC station KTRK-TV.
She ran her first-ever marathon in 2017, seven months after giving birth, according to KTRK.
When she crossed the finish line Sunday in Houston, her two kids were there to congratulate her.
"They see me day in and day out leave for a run and come back an hour or two later, so they've been part of this journey and part of the sacrifice," D'Amato told KTRK. "When I crossed the line and they were there, oh man, it was just one of the happiest moments of my life."
"It's so special, to think that this dream was 'gone' a decade ago, and somehow I just believed," added D'Amato, who works full-time as a real estate agent.
D'Amato tweeted on Monday that she hopes her win inspires other women to believe in themselves.
"After setting the American Record in the Marathon, the thing I am most excited about is some girl/woman saw it and thought, ‘I can do that.’ I know they will… and I’ll be rooting for them," she wrote.
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