The Olympian’s marathon momentum may have stalled, albeit temporarily, but the mum-to-be explains why she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Callie Hauger-Tuckery knew something was wrong. He was 19 miles into the Honolulu Marathon and on his way to victory last December, but began to feel less than perfect.
“I felt like I was really going to throw up,” she recalled. “I was saying: “What’s going on?” I’ve never gotten sick in training, I’ve never gotten sick in a race. I took one of my last drinks and it basically didn’t want to go down. It just came back.
“I just had to fight for the finish. I really wanted that win, and I was able to take myself somewhere else and say to myself: “You can be as sick as you want to be when you’re done.”
Two weeks later, on Christmas Eve, came confirmation that, in fact, he wasn’t too far off the mark. Callie was four weeks pregnant at the time of the race. The news marked a turning point for the 33-year-old as she lined up for the Jan. 11 Houston Marathon.
There was an acceptance that the sub-2:20 ambition had to be shelved, but that didn’t mean another win was off the table. The run would provide an exceptionally steep learning experience and no one but Nick knew what the eventual winner had been through in 2:24:17.
“For Houston, I knew I’d be eight weeks pregnant, and it was kind of hard,” says Hauger-Tuckery. “It was just so hard mentally and physically, but you also have this change in your mindset. You say: “You do it for your little man, too. Now it’s not just for you, it’s your little family unit.” You already have this mom power and I say. “You do it.
“Obviously, if there were any major red flags, I would say. “Absolutely not, not worth it” but for the most part it was good. I felt pretty strong. You’re just working a lot harder than you normally do because you’re growing as a person. And then you just have to limit (the speed). Luckily I was able to do it, but it was so hard.
“That’s recovery, too. That’s when it really took its toll. Obviously, it’s still hard after a marathon, but it was like this. “I’m completely exhausted. Will I ever feel normal again?” I took a whole week off, which is so rare for me, and then slowly got back into it. God, it was hard.
The second quarter has gone so well, however, that Flagstaff-based Hauger-Thackery has returned to racing in recent weeks, first with a top-10 finish at the 15km Gate River Run in Florida and a 17th-place finish in the New York City Half Marathon last month.
“Right now, even though I feel so good, I’m just going to take it day by day, week by week,” he says. “But I talked to the doctors and they said: “Because you’ve been running since you were 12, it would be weird if you didn’t, it wouldn’t be bad for you.”
“Obviously, if you’ve never run a marathon, don’t do it. But you’re good to carry on as usual.” And I’ve talked to a lot of great athlete friends of mine who have done this, and they all basically say, “You’ll be fine as long as you don’t run.” do what my body allows.
“My body feels great out there doing what I do every day. It’s been so good for me and I really think it’s great for the baby too. There’s a lot of research into that, if your body is used to it, just keep it the same, but obviously within reason.
“I feel a lot more normal when I’m out doing what I love and I can run a little bit more while I can. I think it will be very nice to tell my future child.
The New York half was originally intended as a warm-up race for Hauger-Thackery’s second appearance at the Boston Marathon, where she hoped to build on her impressive sixth-place finish last year. At the time of speaking with AW, he wasn’t ruling out that he would still participate, although it was starting to look less likely.
“I really don’t know,” he says. “That’s going to be a huge ask. It’s very different and it’s a marathon again. I am in my second trimester and I feel so good, but at the same time I am fully aware that everything can change in an instant. I would love to do it if my body allows it, just because it’s a great weekend and it’s a really great race. to be able to try and do it.’
Regardless of what happens, it will still be a significant day for the family.
“My husband will be 30 that day and he’s also running, so it’s a really nice little story for us,” she smiles. “I’d love to get in line for him and have a great day with him because he rides really well on courses like this, the hills don’t scare him either. We’re both really excited, but if I have to be on the sidelines and watch him, that’s totally fine.”
Hauger-Tucker is in no danger of getting his priorities mixed up. She and Nick will be documenting their experience with a YouTube series called Podiums to Parenthood, and while she fully expects to want to get back to work as soon as possible after becoming a mom last summer, there’s no pressure on her return. “After pregnancy, I have no time limit and I’m going to give my body the grace it needs,” she says.
But his marathon journey will continue. After a maiden Olympic appearance in Paris, the 2028 Los Angeles Games is a huge target and, let’s not forget, at the time of writing, former world record holder Paula Radcliffe was the only Briton to run a marathon faster than Hauger-Tuckery, whose personal best was 2:21:24 in Berlin in 2024.
“Obviously I really want to do big things, especially in the marathon and then the Los Angeles Olympics, but I’ve got a good schedule so I’m excited, it’s all good,” said the European half-marathon bronze medalist.
“This is a great year for her (to become a mother). There are things that excited me (about racing this year), but I said to Nick, “I don’t necessarily get fired,” and since I had such a busy, big year last year, I feel like it’s the right time to slow down a little, then move on and sometimes think about your best goal.
It will also give Hauger-Tuckery a chance to step back and reflect on her work to date. Last year was indeed exceptionally busy, not only with road races, but also with an 11th place finish in the 10,000m at the World Championships in Tokyo.
“It’s always the next thing, and you don’t smell the flowers and you don’t take in what you’ve done,” says Hauger-Tuckery. “Someone told me at a press conference in Houston, ‘You had a career last year,’ and I really appreciated that. I’ve done so much to get to that point and for them to actually recognize that and say that really means a lot.
“As athletes, we’re our own worst critics and I just look at the things I did wrong or think, ‘What if I did that?’ You always wonder. But (that comment) just made me think. “No, you should be proud of what you did.”
“I still feel fresh for the marathon. I’m still learning a lot and there’s still a lot to learn. I like to mix them up in these different marathons. I think you should do it. It’s not going to be an easy marathon for the Olympics, it’s going to be a battle of attrition and I’m glad I’ve done a few marathons.
“And then this is a really beautiful new chapter. It will just give me new meaning. I have already felt the “mom power”. It’s crazy what it does.”
This feature appears in the April issue of AW magazine. Subscribe here
