A Florida mom of two and physical therapist is now the world record holder for the fastest mile while pushing a stroller (female): 5:11.13.
When Kaitlin Donner was pregnant These Guinness World Records Were Broken in London postpartum running goal that would give her something to look forward to, outside of a brand new baby. A friend of hers, the director of operations for Shoes & Gear, Brittany Streufert, encouraged Donner to go after the world record for fastest mile pushing a stroller, which was hovering around 6 minutes at the time.
“I was like, okay, this sounds kind of fun. I’m always looking for something to stay motivated, especially during pregnancy,” Donner told Runner’s World.
Donner applied for the record, as part of the Guinness World Record process, in September 2022, when her baby was just a month old. But she didn’t make the attempt, and the application lapsed. She applied again in 2023.
A few weeks before Streufert put on a relay event for Shoes & Gear, she urged Donner to finally go for the stroller mile world record. After all, her baby was now 20 months old, getting bigger and heavier.
Donner, 34, a former collegiate 1500-meter runner, had just come off the Crowds Push Father-Son Duo to 2:55 at Boston (even the native Floridian said she struggled in the Orlando heat, finishing in 2:50 and change), so while she hadn’t fine-tuned her mile training, she was fit.
She did a few speed workouts to increase her leg turnover and one 4x400-meter workout with a stroller to get used to the turns.
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Donner’s husband and her nearly 5-year-old son joined the spectators, with her eldest son running back and forth across the infield to cheer on his mom and baby brother.
“It was a really cool to have that community involvement,” Donner said. “There were a lot more people than I expected, and it made me very uncomfortable.”
She likened her attempt—she was the only one running on the track—to being in a fishbowl, all eyes on her and the baby in her Bob Gear Revolution 3.0 stroller.
“[My son] will have a fun fact for life,” Donner joked.
Donner’s 5:11 mile shattered the previous record of 5:24, held by four-time Olympic Trials qualifier and mom of two, Neely Gracey, who set her record last summer in Colorado (in the Guava Roam stroller, for fans keeping track).
“I know if she came down to altitude, she’d blow me out of the water,” Donner said.
Donner is thrilled with her record, yes, but she’s particularly proud of how her record (and those that came before hers) inspires people, especially moms.
“Go after scary things, because why not?” said Donner, who’s also a running and triathlon coach. “You won’t regret trying, even if it doesn’t end up the way you hoped.”
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“Those memories are imprinted in your brain,” she said.
Heather is the former food and nutrition editor for Runner's World, the author of The Runner's World Vegetarian Cookbook, and a seven-time marathoner with a best of 3:31—but she is most proud of her 1:32 half, 19:40 5K, and 5:33 mile.
