Episode 9 | Trina Matthews – How a Mom of 9 (!!) Runs Ultras & Lives in the Present

by Nikki Parnell — May 15, 2020

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In this week’s episode we have the honor of speaking with Trina Matthews. Chase’s long time running buddy, Aaron Maxwell, put Trina on my radar. She is a woman who is rocking life and running ultras with 9 kids by her side. You read that right, Trina has 9 kids (all biological) ranging from 8 to 24 years old. And she’s still a runner pursuing time on the trails in the backcountry near her home. If that doesn’t inspire you, well, I don’t know what will.

We talk with Trina about how she does all this and what life looks like. “One day at a time” seems to be the consensus. I think what stood out to me most from our conversation was her positive demeanor and how intentional she is at finding the joy in each moment. She looks at her big family as a beautiful challenge that brings her great happiness. You can feel the love she has for her people. Her family has taught her how to be flexible and humble and to laugh at the chaos. She is passionate about home educating and has taught or is teaching all of her children too, which adds another dimension to this awesome family’s story. She keeps a “funny book”, where she records funny actions or sayings from the kids as a way to remember the moment and laugh about it. She finds the beauty right here, right now and lists things she’s thankful for – like running water and that the toilet flushes. Currently her home is going through a remodel and her family is cooking on a camp stove, there are no countertops, and their sink is in the laundry room. That added stress might be difficult for anyone to manage, but Trina rolls with it and changes her outlook to gratitude. “The craziness never ends it’s just a matter of keeping it centered in the present moment and not getting too worried about all the stuff that doesn’t matter.”

I love that through all this happy mayhem Trina swears on and stands by the notion that it’s easier to have more kids than less. When you have more, you don’t have to be their sole source of entertainment and according to Trina, the best gift you can give your kids are siblings. They learn how to stretch and share and they have play-mates and partners in crime. Just something to think about, in case you’re deciding whether or not to grow your clan.

As a busy mom, she still finds ways to care for herself in the day to day. She takes the time to run, which always reenergizes her. Trina picked up running again in the last 10 years after a little hiatus (you know, when she was having a lot of babies) and tells us about what running looks like these days. She gets most of her running in during the early morning hours and she “races to train” so to speak, doing ultras here and there to keep her in shape for her true love – spending time in the pristine wilderness out her back door on trails that go forever. She believes that having kids has made her stronger, given her endurance and an extra ability to get through pain. When in a grueling section of a run she has the focus and determination to keep going.

We got to hear about little things that Trina does to stay connected with her husband, herself, and her family through the years. She and her husband have been married for 25 years and she gives some insight on how to stay close to your spouse when kids can make it more difficult. Unconditional love for one another, supporting each other in their pursuits, and carving out time together are keys to their success. They will do an ultra race weekend getaway each year as well as date nights once a month and long runs when they can. Each year she also takes a weekend backpacking trip with her best friend (a mom of 8) and it is “written in blood”, they absolutely won’t miss it. Trina and her family do a race all together every year, which is great family bonding time and helps her kids get their required P.E. credits.

Stef and I really appreciated hearing about Trina’s life and were so inspired by her cheerful perspective. She sees the joy and she IS such a joy. We were reminded that we have to practice living in the present. It’s an intentional thing, to focus on the good and not on the overwhelm when life is loud and in your face. It was an uplifting message for mothers everywhere. 

Now go listen! You can listen to the episode right here (below) or search for Run Hard Mom Hard wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe! It really helps us out!

*Disclaimer: DON’T FREAK OUT!! During the recording for this episode, technology was not on our side unfortunately. We know there are some glitches, some blips, some lags, some stretched out voices. But they’re fairly quick bursts of badness thanks to our podcast editor extraordinaire and lovely cohost, Stef, so if you just hang on through them you’ll make it to the other side! We’re taking Trina’s advice from the episode and “rolling with the punches” and laughing along the way. Because that’s the key to getting through life – and enjoying it too. 

Show Notes

Stef’s favorite thing this week: KT Tape for IT Band

Nikki’s favorite trail shoe: Hoka Torrent 2’s – Find a pair locally through the Hoka website!

Trina’s Favorite Race: Beaverhead 55k

Favorite Meal: Wild Rice Burgers (the best wild rice is from Minnesota but any will do!)