Hugh Owen is a regular guy who got into running in his early twenties and went on to achieve a 2hr38min marathon PB, 1hr16min HM PB, 32Mins 10k PB.  He completed his first Ironman last year and regularly runs with his children in their running buggy.  We talk to him to find out all about it his buggy running.

Q. So what got you into buggy running?

A. Having a child.  (Drrrr!)  We received the buggy as a (requested) gift ahead of the birth because as a runner I really wanted to continue running and get all the advantages of a healthy lifestyle, time to myself but I also wanted to be able to use that as an opportunity to share the time with my little boy. 

Q. So how often would you go out?

A. Because of the buggy I was running as competitively as I could. 7 days a week, some days I would run doubles and the buggy enabled me to continue that schedule.

Q. What were the key factors in your running buggy choice?

A. I wanted a buggy that was up to date, built purely for running as the primary purpose not a secondary consideration.  So we invested in a running buggy from the advice of the local running store, knowing it was going to be able to take running 7 days a week, transportation on planes and hold up for many years.  (And it has!)

Q. Did you use your buggy for your son from when he was a newborn baby?

A. The buggy we chose meant we couldn't run for the first 6 months but we could add the baby car seat at first which meant it could be used from day one and we didn't need any other travel systems.  So I ran with my son from 6 months and even go out with him now at the age of 6, although its much harder going up hill now!

Q. What would you take on a run?

A. Bottle of milk for him in the early days, sport drink for me. A couple of extra blankets just in case too.  We always take the rain cover not just for the rain but to keep the wind off him and keep him warm which has proved really useful many times

Q. What advice would you give to people regarding running buggy posture?

A. After a couple of weeks you stop thinking about it, about which hands you are pushing with etc.  Just get out there and push!

Q.  Where do you run with your buggy?

A. I'm fortunate enough to live in Arlington, Virginia where there are hundreds of miles of bike trials which I prefer to run on to stay away from any traffic.  But I have run all over the world with Henry, on the beaches in California, on the streets of Savannah, in London and many European cities.  With the running buggy we have we are free to run where ever, bump up and down curbs or run over rough terrain.  So we go wherever.

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Q. Did you lock the front wheel?

A.  I tried that at first but didn't get on with it.  I found within a run or two you get used to how to run with it unlocked and its a lot easier on winding bike trials.  But the paths are super smooth so I didn't ever hit lumps or bumps and get pulled off in any direction.

Thanks Hugh sharing your experiences of a buggy running dad!