THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9511290037
SECTION: REAL LIFE PAGE: K2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: THUMBS UP
SOURCE: BY KERRY DOUGHERTY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
IT WAS the ``Marathon Mom'' sign that landed Kristen Randolph a spot on NBC's ``Today'' show last month.
But it was superb conditioning and determination that let the 29-year-old Virginia Beach mother finish one of the premier marathons in the United States - three months after she gave birth to her first child.
``The more people told me I couldn't do it, the more determined I was to finish the race,'' says Randolph, the lean, freckle-faced business manager of La Galleria at the Beach.
Randolph has been an avid runner for almost 10 years. But when she became pregnant at the end of 1994 she put away her running shoes and concentrated on aerobics and fast walking instead.
Her baby boy, Ranny, was born on July 26 and several weeks later Randolph felt the urge to run.
``I tried but I couldn't do it,'' she recalls. ``I just ached and it felt terrible.
``I'm not an idiot. I don't run with pain,'' she says. ``I figured out that it had been almost a year since I last ran and my body just wasn't ready.''
A week later Randolph gave it another try and this time got around the block.
Bit by bit Randolph built up her running until she was doing a few long - 10-mile - runs by the end of September. Suddenly she found herself dreaming about running a marathon.
Randolph had run the New York Marathon before - in 1993. The 26.2-mile run through all five boroughs of New York City was so much fun that she set her goals on that race.
``It's a great marathon,'' she says, smiling at the memory. ``People line the route all the way. From Staten Island to Harlem through the Bronx and into Central Park. It's one big party.''
When she crossed the finish line this year Randolph had added 20 minutes to her previous time of four hours.
She doesn't blame her postpartum condition, however.
``It was so windy out there this year,'' she says. ``And my knee was sore so I took it easy the whole time.''
The morning after the race, Randolph, her husband Ran Randolph and little Ranny joined the throng on the sidewalk outside the ``Today'' show's NBC studio.
Ran Randolph held a sign saying ``Marathon Mom, Had baby July 26, Ran New York Marathon.''
It was eye-catching enough for Katie Couric, who briefly interviewed Randolph on the show.
Reflecting on the feat, which many women would find impossible, Randolph shrugs and credits one thing: the jogging stroller her running buddies bought her for a baby shower gift.
``If it hadn't been for that stroller, I never would have made it,'' she says, grinning.
Will she be running the marathon again next year?
``You never know,'' she says. ``I sure would like to finish the race in under four hours.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Kristen Randolph competed in the marathon three months after giving
birth to son Ranny.
by CNB