The Mother Runners Podcast with Whitney Heins

TERA MOODY: Former Pro Runner REDEFINING SUCCESS as a Mother Runner

• The Mother Runners I Whitney Heins • Season 1 • Episode 32

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Tera Moody was a stand-out runner as a kid. I’m talking state champ. Went on to run at Colorado as part of the national championship team. Placed 5th in the Olympic Trials marathon in 2008. Top ten in the Chicago Marathon, TWICE. Represented the US in Worlds. Has a lifetime PR of 2:30 in the marathon. 

You get the picture.

But it hasn’t been all skittles and sunshine for Tera. She had a coach who was old-school and promoted unhealthy underfueling. As a mom of two, running would completely wipe her out. Mom guilt for running would steal the joy. And, at times, running turned into an unhealthy coping mechanism.  

But through all this, Tera has grown and learned so much and I’m so excited for her to share her insights with us. She’s incredible open about a lot of things such as:

🌀What she saw in her kids that helped her overcome mom guilt

🌀The biggest change she made to keep her energy and mileage up

🌀Her genius idea for re-setting PRs as a mom and a master’s runner

🌀And telltale signs that running is an unhealthy coping mechanism rather than a healthy lifestyle, and so much more.  

You are going to walk away from this episode inspired to redefine success as a mom and runner in a way that just makes you feel GOOD. 

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TIMESTAMPS:

0:01 — Intro and Tera’s background

0:37 — Growing up in the Midwest and moving around

3:46 — College running and nationals

7:22 — How Tera got into running

9:50 — College pressure, body image, and under-fueling

11:14 — Discovering road racing and postpartum comeback

24:24 — Resetting PRs after turning 40 / becoming a mom

35:25 — How Tera trains now and coaches herself

46:22 — Running as a tool, not therapy

64:36 — Most rewarding part of motherhood and running

Whitney Heins is a mom of 2, a lifelong runner, a VDOT-certified running coach for moms who run, and founder of the resource, themotherrunners.com. When training for her first marathon as a mom, she found a dearth of information related to running and motherhood. She also felt extremely isolated as a new mom. As a former TV journalist and a freelance writer she decided to use her skills to fill the void with an online resource and community, called The Mother Runners. Whitney also recognized a need for run coaches who understood the demands of motherhood, so she also became a running coach—unearthing a passion for helping moms reap the rewards and empowerment of running. Coming out of a long injury cycle, she ran a 2:54 marathon and 1:20 half marathon in her 40s. She lives in Knoxville, TN with her husband, two kids, and three dogs.