Mom got trolled for breastfeeding mid-race. She clapped back with a 100-mile run in Antarctica
Stephanie Case was one of the only three women who entered the race. Among them, only she crossed the finish line, on the second place.
Will my fingers and nose go numb with the cold? How will I prevent myself from sweating? What if I feel like throwing up? These were some of the questions spinning in 43-year-old Stephanie Case’s head while she boarded a cargo plane from Cape Town to the coldest place on Earth. Wrestling with fierce lashes of katabatic winds, huddles of penguins, and temperatures as low as minus thirty-five degrees Celsius, the ultra-runner became the “first woman to complete an extreme 100-mile race in Antarctica.” The race was a fiery clapback to all those people who told her to sit at home and take care of the baby while she posted a pic of herself breastfeeding during a race last year. After racing 100 miles on the planet’s snow-capped far side, Case has once again proved that “motherhood is not the finish line,” as she also described to the BBC on November 10, 2026.
Post-pregnancy warm-up
Pepper, her daughter, was born after a three-year battle through infertility, miscarriages, and IVF. Six months after her birth, in May last year, the 42-year-old mom of a human rights lawyer entered a 60-mile ultra-trail race in Snowdonia in Eryri, Wales. The race was a “warm-up” for the Hardrock 100-mile run in Colorado, USA, in July. It was her first race since 2022, and she had permission to feed at three points along the course, which she completed in just under 17 hours. "It was so stabilizing to know that all of the transformation and trauma I'd gone through trying to get pregnant and finally give birth, that runner part of me was still there," she said.
Backlash for breastfeeding
A photo of her eating watermelon and breastfeeding her baby at one of these stops became viral and attracted a lot of negative comments. People, both men and women, called her “selfish” and "attention-seeking." Running a long, technical race, being female, and being a mum breastfeeding a young baby was "very niche,” she described. So, she responded to these comments by running a 100-mile race in the coldest place on the planet.
Perfect clapback
Previously attempted only by men, Case was one of the three women on the start line but the only one to touch the finish line. She became one of the four out of eight runners who participated in the race and crossed the finish line second in 17 hours 31 minutes and 39 seconds, after the Chinese runner Yusheng. In this case, it was more about survival than performance. "When you're out in that environment for 20 minutes, it's OK, but when you're out in it for 17 hours or more, it can take a huge toll on the body because you have to expend so much energy just to keep yourself warm," Case told BBC Sport.
A race against the cold
She shared a variety of challenges Case faced as a runner on this track in Antarctica. For instance, she had to ensure she didn’t sweat because that would instantly amplify the cold she was feeling. Bathroom breaks were another challenge. Normally, she would just go in the woods, but due to Antarctica’s biosecurity, she couldn’t leave any traces. Plus, with so many layers covering her body, taking off gloves even for five seconds put her skin at risk of frostbite. Despite the obstacles, she hit the finish line. "The environment is so harsh, and things can go wrong so quickly… It was just relief when I crossed the finish line that I'd actually done it and in a time that I was super proud of,” Case said, adding that the pride was doubled by the fact that Antarctica is often referred to as the “womanless continent” and she helped shatter that myth.
Childbirth is not a hindrance
In a study published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, ten elite Canadian athletes attempted an online questionnaire revealing whether and how soon they returned to competitive sport after pregnancy during their sporting career. Even though they experienced a lack of support for childcare within sport and balancing breastfeeding with training, nine out of 10 athletes reported resuming training after childbirth. Among these, four out of five reported improved performance.
'Motherhood is not the finish line.'
Looking ahead, Case’s main intention was always to come home and show her daughter that her dreams are possible and to shut down all the people who believe motherhood is the end of a woman’s dreams. "I felt like the best way to clap back at anyone who thought that I should be at home with my baby was to go to the most extreme place on Earth and try to get the record," she said. "Women breastfeed, women race. It's just the two things together. Other women have done it before, and they will do it again,” she said, adding that she didn’t intend to make women feel “overwhelmed and pressured” with her achievements, just more inspired. "We don't lose ourselves and our identity in becoming mums," said Stephanie. "We just have another layer."
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