A Highland, Utah mother of three plans to line up at a Provo High School track on October 7 and attempt a sub-five-minute mile while nine months pregnant. Makenna Myler, a former BYU runner who competes professionally for ASICS, already holds what is described as the fastest-known mile recorded for a woman at that stage of pregnancy, a 5:17 she ran while expecting her second child.
Myler's pregnant-mile tradition didn't start as an elite training exercise. As reported by KSL.com, she began running a fast pregnant mile during her first pregnancy, and per Business Insider, the whole thing started with a $100 bet from her husband, Mike Myler, that she couldn't run an eight-minute mile at nine months pregnant. She answered with a 5:25 mile just 10 days before giving birth, and the moment went viral.
From Viral Bet to Structured Campaign
The upcoming attempt, dubbed Sub 5 at 9, is no longer just a personal challenge — it's tied to a fundraising campaign for the nonprofit For All Mothers, according to the same KSL report. The organization supports women in sports, specifically running, by providing financial grants, free childcare and lactation stations at races, addressing what advocates have long called the motherhood penalty in professional athletics. For All Mothers is distinct from &Mother, a nonprofit that Women's Running says Alysia Montaño and Dr. Molly Dickens launched in 2020; the article also discusses Montaño's advocacy and later marathon activity.
Myler is inviting the public to race her — for charity — on race day at Provo High School, per the KSL report. She said the mile challenge is intended to show what women can do when supported, and considers the sub-five-minute goal itself secondary to increasing support and awareness for mothers. She said her baby's health is always at the forefront of her mind, adding that her body feels healthy and the baby shows good signs of growth and movement.
Backed by Olympic-Level Coaching in Utah
Myler trains under BYU coach Ed Eyestone, a two-time U.S. Olympic marathoner who directs BYU Track and Field and who coached Olympians Conner Mantz, Clayton Young and Kenneth Rooks at the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to BYU Athletics. Per the KSL account, Myler now does one workout per week and, since her second and third pregnancies, has backed off intensity and increased volume compared to her earlier training approach. She plans to wear carbon-plated shoes for the attempt, having run her past two pregnant miles in flats and spikes.
Her competitive résumé stretches well beyond the pregnancy stunts that made her famous. She placed seventh overall in the women's marathon at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando in February 2024, running a personal-best 2:26:14 — averaging 5:35 per mile — while just 10 months postpartum and still breastfeeding, according to RUN. Her personal-best half-marathon time is 1:07:37. Her personal-best mile time stands at 4:37, per the KSL report.
A Broader Utah Running Trend
Myler is a former BYU runner. She's not the only elite runner tied to the university pushing the boundaries of late-pregnancy training: former BYU runner Kylie Mantz ran a 5:26 mile at 38 weeks pregnant in July 2026, according to Marathon Handbook, a sign that BYU has become something of an informal hub for high-performance pregnant distance runners.
Medical guidance says vigorous-intensity exercise is safe for most healthy pregnancies. For most runners, Myler's goal remains almost unimaginable.
