Active people don’t stop being active when they become parents; they are only becoming more innovative and efficient.

Whether it’s to keep a step count, find a sense of community, or keep up a beat while working out for health goals, new and seasoned parents are strapping the kids in the stroller and hitting the trails.

It’s no secret that finding a babysitter can be a challenge, but moms and dads are growing to rely on the bonding time their new sidecar brings; not just with their co-drivers, but with other parents as well.

Bonding through training

“We have a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old, and over the summer we upgraded and got a double-wide stroller to fit both kids,” said Dan Petty of Littleton. “It was great. I’m training for the New York City Marathon right now, and my kids have been chaperones for much of this summer while I’ve been training for it.”

Petty’s daily travels often take him and his children on runs of over 10 miles.

No iPads or screen time. Instead, the kids bring some toys and snacks and enjoy the scenery as they speed down the Mary Carter Greenway, one of Petty’s favorites. North of Chatfield Reservoir, along the South Platte River, it offers paved and gravel paths (large enough for double-width strollers) for runners and walkers.

While the kids enjoy an almost first-class riding experience, dad trains and mom gets a well-deserved break.

“It’s great because when I take them out for an hour or two, or sometimes longer, it gives my wife a break to read or work out on her own,” Petty said. “It’s one of those things where I get exercise, the kids get some fresh air, we get some time together and my wife gets a real break from two kids, which is a lot.”

The NYC Marathon on Nov. 2 will be Petty’s second. He was a competitive runner in high school and college, but took some time away from the sport. After a few friends got back into it a few years ago, so did Petty, not letting fatherhood get in the way.

In fact, his kids help push him harder. That and the altitude. Petty has lived in Colorado for 15 years and said training here before running a marathon at sea level definitely helps. Although he’ll be shedding the weight of the stroller on race day, Petty knows his kids will be cheering him on.

Petty is looking to raise money for the Asian American Journalists Association. To support him at the New York City Marathon, consider donating at www.aaja.org/the-futures-fund/.

Memories for miles

Another Arvada parent has her sights set on a lofty goal, and her daughter is a key piece of the puzzle.

Cassandra Porter is an assistant cross country coach for Arvada West High School. A lifelong runner, she competed in high school for Early College of Arvada until 2016 before becoming a Roadrunner at Metropolitan State University in Denver.

Courtesy of Cassandra Porter

After becoming a mother and coach in 2021, Porter continued to run, bringing her daughter to Arvada West practices and pushing her. Last year around the Fourth of July, Porter learned that a new Guinness World Record had been set by a woman pushing a pram (stroller) at five minutes and 24.17 seconds.

The woman’s name was Neely Gracey and oddly enough she was from Boulder and set the record in Englewood.

“I’m always on top of anything in the running world and last summer I think I saw that. A mom in Colorado broke the record and got it down to 5:24,” Porter said. “So I called my coach and talked about it and applied for the Guinness World Record. It takes about three months to be approved. So once we got the approval back, we were going to run it in the fall of 2023. But we just had a few hiccups in training. I had an injury and then a medical problem. So I pushed it back until I was fit again.”

Last April, Kaitlin Donner of Viera, Florida, broke the record again, lowering the number to five minutes and 11.46 seconds.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to have to train a little harder for it now,'” Porter said. “So now I think we’re ready. I think it would be great to run it with my daughter and also have my athletes watch and inspire them. That’s a big motivation for that.”

Porter has been running with her daughter since she was three months old. He’s now almost 3 years old and has accompanied Porter on over 50 runs, whether it’s longer runs, sprints or tempo runs.

“He loves it,” she said. “My athletes love it when he comes to train and run with us. We put a speaker in the stroller and play music and she can walk around and just eat the snacks. It’s the best.”

She doesn’t have an exact date for the record, but Porter knows it’s something she wants to tackle soon. It’s been on my mind for a while. Whether it breaks her or not, the time with her daughter was priceless and irreplaceable.

“It would be a huge deal. I’m so goal-driven,” Porter said. “That was just a one-year goal and I want to tick it off the list, hopefully. I’m a very nervous runner so I’m hoping this will be some sort of breakthrough in racing. I usually do very well with training, but racing is a bit more stressful for me. So I think racing with my daughter will calm my nerves. I think it’s going to be something super special between me and her.”

Community as a parent

For others, becoming a parent could open a door to a more shared and active lifestyle.

Stephanie Holzhauer is the owner of Fit4Mom Castle Rock. Before moving to Colorado a few years ago, she was exposed to the program after becoming a mother herself in San Diego.

She started as a member, and after several Fit4Moms experiences in several cities, she decided she needed to get more involved.

“I immediately fell in love with community fitness and just having support from other moms, being a first-time mom myself,” Holzhauer said. “Just being in that community, having that support and then being able to work with my child … one of the biggest reasons I joined is also as a social person. I love working out outside, and as a mom, I never wanted to put my kid in kindergarten at a gym. It was like a win-win because I got to work out, I got to make friends, and I didn’t have to put my kid in daycare.”

Fit4Mom offers several different classes for moms, including a prenatal workout specifically for moms-to-be, mom-only sessions like body wellness and body stimulation classes, and the most popular: stroller steps.

As the name suggests, this workout is a full-body strength, cardio, and core workout class while getting your kids involved in the stroller. And the kids get a lot of classes, she said. Instructors will sing songs to the children and engage them in physical exercise and active learning.

“I absolutely love it when a mom sends me little videos of their kids at home doing lunges in their stroller or singing songs and doing some kind of stroller steps,” Holzhauer said. “My girls are now (older) but when they were little they used to play pushchair all the time… And to this day, they love what I do and I love coming to the classes and they love the fitness and the incredible the example that mothers set for their children is just to be outside and be active.”

There’s also a running club, which includes an eight-week guided training program for moms interested in running a 5K or half marathon, with or without those without a stroller.

When she first got involved working for Fit4Mom, Holzhauer said she thought she could teach a few classes without a problem, but she never expected how much it would give her back.

“It was incredibly rewarding,” she said. “You know, when you have someone come along and she joins in and she’s like, ‘I didn’t know how much I needed this. I was at home, I was alone.’ Or maybe they were struggling with postpartum depression and will suddenly come to class and realize they’re not the only ones dealing with this or that. So just to see the friendships that develop within our community and the support that everyone has for each other… it’s incredibly rewarding.”