The Mother Runners Podcast with Whitney Heins

Send us Fan Mail THIS IS YOUR YEAR TO GET CONSISTENT WITH YOUR STRENGTH TRAINING!  In today’s episode, we dive into the third installment of my special GOAL GETTER series, designed to help you seize your goals this year. In previous episodes, I've engaged with a behavior change coach to help you make and break habits, and a registered dietitian to fine-tune your nutrition for 2026. Today, I’m...

Send us Fan Mail This is the second installment of the GOAL GETTER 2026 SERIES designed to help you crush your goals in 2026! In this episode, I dive into the vital connection between running and nutrition with Megan Robinson, a sports registered dietitian and experienced running coach. As a busy mom of two young adults and a lifelong runner, Megan understands the challenges that come with balanci...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to this month's special series where we’re gearing up for success in the new year! Join me each week as I interview a lineup of remarkable experts, including a registered dietitian, strength coach, sports performance hypnotherapist, and today’s guest, behavior change coach Kaylin Goepper.  Together, we'll explore essential topics like how to establish new habits...

Send us Fan Mail I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season. In honor of the holidays, we are doing this week's episode a little bit differently (hence the special Friday air date)…I have on the show Lindsey Hein, host of the ever popular running podcast I’ll Have Another . And I’m on Lindsey’s show—in a rare dual episode—because we thought it would fun to just come on and chat.  This e...

Send us Fan Mail I don't know about you, but I think making friends as a mom can be hard--especially due to lack of time, energy, and guilt (much like it is with running!). But today we learn how being intentional about prioritizing and investing in your friendships with other moms is so worth it!! Like with running, that time spent makes you happier, healthier, and a better mom.  Today’s epi...

Send us Fan Mail Polly Cunes, a mom of two, PE teacher, and master’s runner, is only getting faster at the age of 42. But Polly’s times aren’t what’s so impressive about her. It’s her patience, consistent work, and quiet confidence.  In this episode, Polly shares what drives her to wake up early and run big workouts on her treadmill before a busy day of work and kids’ activities. Polly opens up ab...

Send us Fan Mail Life as a mother and a runner can be challenging, no less doing both. This is true even if you are a pro runner like Makenna Myler, sponsored by Asics and mom of two. Actually, it is ESPECIALLY true if you are a professional runner. Because, NO, she doesn't get to nap all day and get massages. Makenna's running double digit miles, sometimes twice a day, and being a prese...

Send us Fan Mail In this conversation, Amanda Perras bravely shares with us the struggle she had for almost two decades with an eating disorder and how running helped her overcome it and be the best mom she can be. We also talk about how her journey has helped her ensure her kids have a healthy relationship with food and their body image. Other topics we touch on: Running races for joy Social medi...

Send us Fan Mail In this special Thanksgiving episode, I share heartfelt advice and life lessons from fellow mother runners and a few male runners I know or coach. Drawing inspiration from my own journey through the Chicago Marathon and the relationships I have built along the way, I delve into wisdom that transcends running, offering insights into parenting and life itself. This is a episode that...

Send us Fan Mail Claire Bartholic wasn’t always a runner but when she discovered her passion for running and health, she was able to cut more than an hour off her marathon time in a healthy, injury-free, and sustainable way. Claire shares with us how she was able to transform from casual runner to a sub-three hour marathoner by setting realistic fitness goals. Claire's story and tips will mot...

Send us Fan Mail Join me as I delve into the world of running with Laura Norris, a passionate runner, running coach, and expert in the science of running. After discovering her love for running during her undergraduate studies, Laura dedicated her postgraduate studies and career to understanding how running impacts our bodies and minds. As a science writer and coach to over 500 runners, her insigh...

Send us Fan Mail Rachel Tinius had the most perfect build to run a sub-3-hour marathon in Chicago. But the morning of the race, something was off. Her Garmin’s body battery read 8 percent. And the first few miles of the marathon felt like she was running 5k effort. Soon her entire body started cramping. She made it to the finish, deep in the pain cave, and really confused. She was so ready for tha...

Send us Fan Mail What didn’t Keira D’Amato and I talk about!? From our most hated fruit to losing weight postpartum and mom guilt—we cover a lot. Truthfully, I could talk to Keira for hours—she is fun and a wealth of valuable insights for mother runners.  This interview supplements Keira’s amazing new book called Don’t Call it a Comeback: What Happened When I Stopped Chasing PRs, and Started Chasi...

Send us Fan Mail Audra McPartland, a dedicated runner and mother of four, PE teacher, and soon-to-be masters runner, was on fire running personal records in several distances going from a 23-minute 5K to sub-18, a 1:42 half marathon to 1:20, and a 3:42 marathon to 2:59. But then she started to not feel like herself. Her build up for the New York Marathon was full of fatigue and like she was runnin...

Send us Fan Mail This new podcast features in-depth and fun interviews with mother runners (aka moms who run). Some names you may recognize, and some you may not. Every single mother runner has an incredible story regardless of how far or fast they run. Embedded in each story are chapters of strength, hope, and overcoming. This podcast exists because we need to hear each other's stories to no...

Send us Fan Mail This was such a great episode! We chat with Megan Robinson, a registered sports dietitian nutritionist, about how to fuel for all stages of “motherrunnerhood” from pre-pregnancy to postpartum and into perimenopause. Megan shares her expertise on how to maintain energy availability, the significance of colorful plates, and the necessity of adequate protein intake.  Our conversation...

Send us Fan Mail The gang is back with all 4 of us today! This was a fun one to start and then we got serious talking about our own experiences with perfectionism and what has helped us battle this pressure. We share humorous anecdotes about parenting and the challenges of maintaining a perfect image, while also emphasizing the importance of embracing imperfection and authenticity.  Our conversati...

Send us Fan Mail Whew, what an episode. This week we take on a listener question about how we stay motivated to run. This is not your typical discussion about all the ways to force ourselves out the door. We discuss self-reflection and how to get to the root cause of feeling less enthused about running. And we give tips that have helped us if we decided we wanted to keep going or how we have decid...

Send us Fan Mail This episode features Olivia & Shanna unhinged. Well, sort of. They two talk about some unserious things like GOLF (well, non-serious for us) & pretty serious things like Shanna's decision to drop out of Chicago--& overall how to decide when to do a race, and when to NOT...and all the factors that go into that decision. The conversation also touches on how we can...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is a special one. We answer our listeners’ questions which vary from what our favorite shoes are to how we handle mom guilt when leaving our kids to run (& have our partners watch them).  Per usual, this episode begins with us catching up on our current status of mom life. Shanna and Olivia discuss how it feels being alone for the first time since becoming a mom w...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Miles with Moms podcast, we discuss recovery from running—what we do, what works, what doesn’t. Our conversation highlights the balance between personal well-being and the demands of motherhood. We talk about what recovery tools and supplements are worth it, the significance of fueling the body for optimal performance, and how you know if you are over-doing...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we discuss how to pick the right race and running goal for your season of motherhood. We share our personal experiences with this along with how to strike the right balance between betting on yourself vs. forcing something. We also share race day logistics as a mom including traveling with your kids, planning races while breastfeeding and more.  We hope this episo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, all four of us share our birth stories and how our experiences impact our running today. While we are all runners and moms, our childbirth experiences are all so different as is our relationships between giving birth and it impacting our running and mindset.  We hope you find it helpful, inspiring, and of course—makes you laugh. Thanks for listening! THIS EPISODE...

Send us Fan Mail This is an important episode! We dive into the crucial topic of hormone health and its profound impact on women's wellness. We learn so much from running & strength coach Emily Knight personal journey through hormone healing after battling hypothalamic amenorrhea, a condition often caused by stress and overtraining.  Emily shares her insights on balancing rigorous trainin...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we talk about something only moms can really understand—feeling like we lost ourselves in motherhood. We share our personal experiences of what it looked like for us in feeling disconnected to who we once were and our journey back to that (that some of us are still on).  We also talk about the constant tug-of-war between personal identity and societal expectations...