In December of 2025 we were at The Running Event, walking between two conference talks, when we stopped at a booth and never made it to the second one.
Shannon Rowbury and Jessica Dorrington were there promoting their new book, Strong As A Mother. Shannon is a three-time Olympian and one of the most accomplished distance runners this country has produced. Jessica is a pelvic health physical therapist with deep expertise in exactly the areas the running world tends to overlook. Together they wrote a book that we genuinely believe needed to exist, and talking with them for over an hour made that even clearer.
What struck us most was not the credentials. It was the care. These are two people who saw a real gap in the resources available to active women and decided to do something about it. The book covers prenatal fitness, postpartum recovery, pelvic floor health, and the science behind staying strong through one of the most physically demanding transitions a person can go through. It was written for women who want real answers, not a list of things to avoid.
Women who run don't stop being runners because they're pregnant. And the return to running after having a child is one of the least-supported transitions in the sport. That has always bothered us. This book bothered to fix it.
Standing at that booth, still in the middle of the conversation, we pre-ordered 10 copies. The book wasn't releasing until February 2026, but Shannon and Jessica's love for what they had created and the women they wrote it for made it an easy decision. We wanted to support them and we wanted this book in the hands of women who needed it.
When the books arrived, every copy went to a giveaway winner paired with a sports bra, because support should be practical. The information to keep going and the gear to do it in. Ten women walked away with both, and that felt exactly right.
If you haven't picked up a copy yet, you should. Shannon and Jessica earned it, and so did you.
