Trish Staine and her family didn't expect to become a national news tidbit when she embarked on her nine-mile run Sunday.
But this was no normal day of half-marathon training.
It started out as some post-jog stiffness in the 33-year-old's back upon returning to her Duluth home. It ended Monday afternoon with Staine being handed her and her husband's third biological child, a baby girl born despite all kinds of odds.
Until four days ago, Staine had no idea she was pregnant.
And who could blame her? Her husband, John Staine, had a vasectomy.
"I said 'No, no, that's impossible,'" Trish told the Associated Press. "I definitely thought I was done having kids."
But after ingesting pain relievers, sitting in the bath tub and trying to rest it off, the pain only increased. Thoughts of a possible pinched nerve, a kidney stone or burst appendix swirled, and John called an ambulance early Monday afternoon.
When he entered Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center after his own doctor's appointment in Superior, Wis., John was told he had a new, 6-pound, 6-ounce, 18.9-inch-long baby girl.
"Whose baby is that?" John asked, according to the Duluth News-Tribune. "It's not possible."
Mira — short of Miracle — Staine was born at 3:25 p.m. Monday, about five weeks premature.
She joins a family with two biological siblings, an 11-year-old brother and a 7-year-old sister. Trish is also stepmother to John's three boys, ages 17, 19, and 20, according to the AP.
She'd been training for the Garry Bjorklund half-marathon June 22 in Duluth and showed zero signs of being pregnant. John even thought his wife had dropped a few pounds during her workouts.
"She didn't gain any weight," he told the Duluth News-Tribune. "Her face was even thinner."
By Wednesday, several national news websites had picked up the Staine family's story.
Trish and Mira checked out of St. Mary's on Thursday and returned home. John said his wife may even try to still run later this month in the half-marathon, a race in conjunction with the annual Grandma's Marathon.
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