Slekis Combines Marathons and Motherhood

Former Syracuse runner Stefanie Slekis has run five marathons in her life. One of them was run while eight months pregnant. And the most recent one was run just a few weeks after delivering her second child.

Earlier this year, Slekis—who is currently the head cross country and track and field coach at Nicholls State—completed the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials just weeks after delivering her second daughter, Sandy. She finished with a time of 3:14:00, meeting her husband, two-year-old daughter, Polly and newborn at the finish line. She was one-of-11 former Syracuse student-athletes to compete in this year's marathon trials, the most alumni representation of any school.

Slekis' journey to finding success in marathon running wasn't an easy one. It was full of failures, surprises and mishaps. Despite the struggles, Slekis says "the relationships and the people [she] met along the way" make it all worth it.

When Slekis graduated from Syracuse in 2010, she was coming off of a collegiate running career that had just started to blossom. Her first three years of competing were plagued with shortcomings until she finally started to break through her senior year. Even then, though, she didn't quite meet expectations. "I don't think I lived up to my own potential," she said.

Following graduation, Slekis knew she couldn't walk away from the sport. She loved running and the community that goes along with it too much. She decided to pursue coaching, inspired by her close relationships with her teammates and coaches. Still holding on to that competitive spirit from college, Slekis kept training while she began her coaching career. She asked Syracuse head coach Brien Bell – who was an assistant coach at the time – to assist her in training, albeit from a distance, which he did for years after she graduated.

"I think that's why you see this longevity of people pursuing the sport or coaching careers… we seem to graduate from Syracuse with a deeper love for the sport," Slekis said of her coach's investment in her throughout the years.

She refers to Bell as her biggest mentor in the sport. Committing to Syracuse earned her a "lifelong commitment of support from Coach Bell," according to Slekis.

With that support, Slekis started chasing her goal of qualifying for the US Marathon Olympic Trials in her early years of coaching. In 2014, Slekis had made her way to North Texas University as the men's and women's cross country coach. When it came to the day of the race, she missed her goal. Her time wasn't quite fast enough to qualify. Slekis tried again in 2015, but ended up with the same result.

It wasn't until June 22, 2019 that Slekis finally qualified. After running over 90 miles a week for training, Slekis qualified with a time of 2:42:24 at Grandma's Marathon in Minnesota. In that race, she averaged just over a six-minute mile—at the age of 31. She says she was in the best shape of her life that summer, even better than when she ran in college.

Slekis had her eyes set on the US Marathon Olympic Trials—until something slowed her pace. At a doctor's appointment shortly after Grandma's, she found out she was pregnant with her second child, and her due date fell within days of the Olympic Trials. That day, Slekis cried bittersweet tears. "I was so happy about the baby," she said, "but also sad because I'd finally qualified after chasing that goal for so long." Above all, though, she was elated to be pregnant with her second child.

Throughout her pregnancy, Slekis continued to run. She remained in close contact with her midwife to ensure the safety of her baby, decreased her weekly load from 90 to 40 miles and continued to train with her team at Nicholls State. She didn't even tell her team that she was pregnant until after Thanksgiving. They could hardly believe it, as Slekis had paced their workouts throughout the fall.

In January, Slekis ran a Louisiana marathon while 35 weeks pregnant. Her time of 3:07:15 earned her a fifth-place finish among women in the race. "The Louisiana marathon was really special," she said. "I was smiling the whole time and would get cheers when I passed by." But they weren't just regular cheers. There were cheers because she was running fast, and then there was a second wave of cheers when the viewers realized she was pregnant. "The support was phenomenal."

As her due date crept closer, so did the Olympic Trials. Although she tried to rule out the possibility of competing from her mind, she held on to her dream. "Maybe," she thought.

Another unexpected twist gave her the opportunity to do so. Three weeks before her due date, she had to get induced. She'd deliver her baby a few weeks early—at 37 weeks instead of full term. As she was wheeled back in the delivery room to give birth to her second child, she remembers one very specific thought creeping into her mind: "Well, maybe now I can run in the trials."

And just a few weeks later, she did. With her midwife's approval, Slekis was able to finish the Olympic Trials, running it in 3:14:00. It was a slow time for Slekis, but that marathon was about much more than her time. It was about perseverance, courage and strength. It was about the two other pregnant women running the race. It was about her athletes at Nicholls State. It was about her two-year-old and newborn daughters who'd be waiting for her at the end of the race. It was about all of the people who helped her get to that point.

"Ultimately, the journey was all about relationships," she said. Whether it be her teammates, her athletes, Coach Bell, her midwife, her husband, or her daughters - those were the people that made it worth it. And they mean more than any marathon time ever could.

Syracuse University Athletics

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