Posted 7:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, 2016
Alumna Julia [Rudd) Webb set the world record for running a half marathon with a baby stroller. She ran a time faster than the current world record — set only a month earlier — by about five minutes.
Alum sets world records for running with a stroller
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Julia (Rudd) Webb, ’06, poses with her daughter, Paula.[/caption]
Finishing seventh in a competitive half-marathon sounds like a great accomplishment. Now do that while pushing a stroller.
That’s exactly what Julia (Rudd) Webb did in July. Webb finished the 2016 Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon in less than one hour and 23 minutes.
"Two-and-a-half years ago after experiencing hundreds of miles of strolling with my first daughter, and often running paces fast enough to keep up with my training partners who didn't have a baby to push, the thought popped into my head, 'I wonder if there is a record for this,’" said the 2006 alumna.
Webb ran a time faster than the current world record — set only a month earlier — by about five minutes. "The title 'World Record' is a little generous if you're relating it to running because this isn't anything close to a true record in an Olympic sport,” says Webb. “But it does make me smile to think no other mom has run as fast with their baby (yet)."
Webb made a name for herself in college by running the steeplechase, an event often called the most grueling endurance run. In the steeplechase, racers run and jump over hurdles and water obstacles. She set the NCAA Division III record in 2004 while at UWL.
Webb started stroller running six months after her first pregnancy. Since then, she also set the stroller pushing 10k world record in 2014 while pushing a friend’s baby.
“Stroller running is a safe option,” Webb says. “You can start as early as one-week old if you get a car seat attachment.”
Webb uses her successes and social media to inspire other moms and dads, especially former college athletes like herself, to get creative in maintaining their fitness and involving their kids.
The Julia Webb File
- Named to the All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women's Cross Country and Women's Track & Field Team, Webb competed at UWL from 2002-06.
- WIAC individual cross country title in 2002 and was a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III All-America, placing second in 2005, 23rd in 2002 and 26th in 2013.
- Holds the school record in the indoor 5,000 meter run (17:05.81) and was a two-time NCAA III All-America in the event, placing fifth in 2006 and eighth in 2004. She won the 3,000 meter run at the 2004 and 2006 WIAC Indoor Championship and the 5,000 meter run in 2003 and 2006.
- Earned four career NCAA III All-America accolades in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, including winning the national title in 2004. Webb was third nationally in 2002, 2005 and 2006 while also placing sixth in the 5,000 meter run in 2006.
- The only three-time WIAC champion in the 3,000 meter steeplechase (2004, 2005, 2006), Webb also won the conference outdoor title in the 5,000 meter run in 2004.
- Webb is married to Alan Webb, the American record holder in the mile.