Strava is putting serious money behind a growing movement to make running and racing more accessible to mothers.
On Tuesday, the fitness platform announced a new partnership with For All Mothers+, pledging $300,000 in research and grant funding as part of its Strive for More™ initiative.
The bulk of the support will go toward a newly launched grant program—aptly named “Childcare So They Can Get Out There”—which will give 50 moms $2,000 each to help cover the often-overlooked costs of childcare, travel, lodging, and training needed to get to the start line.
The goal? To tackle the Motherhood Penalty—the systemic disadvantages women face in career, health, and social mobility after having children. In sport, that penalty shows up in all kinds of ways, from rigid race deferral policies to a complete lack of support for breastfeeding runners.
“For moms, getting to the start line often means overcoming a mountain of invisible barriers,” said Olympic medalist and For All Mothers+ founder Alysia Montaño, a longtime advocate for maternal equity in sport. “We want every mother to see a clear, supported path not just to the start line, but to the finish—and to the podium.”
What the Research Shows
The new grant program is backed by a recent study conducted by For All Mothers+ in partnership with Carleton University’s Health & Wellness Equity Research Group. The numbers are sobering:
- 83% of parents surveyed said pregnancy or parenting had prevented them from racing.
- 66% pointed to lack of childcare as the biggest barrier.
- 40% said they had skipped races because of breastfeeding or pumping concerns.
- And a whopping 92% said they preferred to support events that offered lactation or childcare services—even if they didn’t need them personally.
In other words, the issue isn’t just individual—it’s structural.
“You can have all the motivation and fitness in the world,” Montaño said. “But if you’re a nursing mom with no childcare and no place to pump at a race, you’re staying home.”
What the Partnership Delivers
Beyond grants, Strava is helping improve the racing experience through platform features.
Its Waypoints tool now allows organizers to mark the location of lactation stations and family amenities directly on course maps, making it easier for participants to plan around caregiving needs.
The funding also expands the Family Forward Event Directory, a resource where runners can find—and organizers can submit—events that offer things like stroller-friendly courses, on-site childcare, or flexible deferral policies.
This partnership builds on years of advocacy work from athletes like Montaño, who helped expose pregnancy-related contract issues in elite sponsorships back in 2019 and has pushed for reforms ever since.
While some progress has been made at the professional level, local races and amateur events often still fall short in supporting mothers.
“This isn’t about special treatment,” said Montaño. “It’s about designing sport for the realities of the people who participate.”
