If running a 10K race wasn’t challenging enough, 37-year-old Sunnyvale resident Ann Marie Cody brought along her 2-year-old triplets for Sunday’s 36th annual Wildflower Run.
Pushing a triple stroller, with her three co-pilots (two boys and a girl), Cody set a new Guiness Book world record by completing the 6.2-mile course in 47 minutes, 10 seconds.
“I had two people running with me as witnesses and we discussed time and pace throughout the race. It was pretty clear early on that I was well ahead of the record pace,” said Cody, now the “Fastest 10K Pushing a Triple Pram (Female)” titleholder.
Cody—who is also the world record holder for the Triple Pram Marathon (4:06.33 in March 2018 in Modesto) and one-time Half-Marathon world record holder (1:46:10 in April 2018 in San Jose)—shattered the previous mark of 49:17. The previous mark was set by Julie Dinardo on Aug. 26, 2018 at the Fierce Running Festival 10K in Rhode Island.
“It’s very hard to find races that will take us,” said Cody, an astronomer with NASA. “Morgan Hill was our only option. They really embraced our effort and were extremely supportive. It was an awesome experience all-around. We are really fond of the Wildflower now.”
Cody—running in her first competitive race in a year—bested her 30-39 age division, was the third fastest female and 28th overall at the annual American Association of University Women-Morgan Hill chapter’s fundraising run.
To make her world record time official, Cody contacted Guiness prior to the race and was given clearance to go for the 10K mark.
“Initially, I thought I’d be the first to do it, but a woman in Rhode Island beat me to it,” said Cody, whose initial goal was to eclipse the 50-minute mark until learning of Dinardo’s record pace. “That was my new goal, to break her number.”
Cody, who keeps a close eye on the world record breakers and posts updates on her website threepeas.run—runs every weekend with her three children in a stroller for about one to two hours at a time. While the triplets do tend to fall asleep at some point during their runs (more so when they were younger), they were wide awake for Morgan Hill’s Wildflower Run.
“They did not (sleep). Now that they are two, they nap in the afternoon,” Cody said. “They just enjoyed the scenery, looked at the cars and people, felt the breeze and enjoyed themselves.”
Maxi Corrales claimed the 2019 Wildflower 10K overall crown with a time of 35:13, while Kristin Boone, of Los Gatos, was the fastest female with a time of 45:12.
In the 5K race, Ken Meager bested the field in 19:22 with Gilroy’s Kari Anne Bertand winning the women’s 5K title by completing the 3.1-mile challenge in 19:56.
