Pregnant Runner: Competing At Track And Field Championships Shows How Far Women have Come

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A woman competing at this week's U.S. Track and Field Championships is competing just weeks away from giving birth to her child.

Alysia Montano, 28, finished last in her 800M heat on Thursday, but he UC Berkeley star drew cheers from the crowd as she crossed the finish line.

"I think we've come a really long way and I'm really glad I'm pregnant in 2014," she said. "It's just amazing thing we can do as women."

Seven weeks away from delivering her first child, the five-time national champion is gearing up for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Competing with a little person inside her on Thursday was a little challenging.

"It's like tight on there. There like the amniotic fluid and there's the skin that's keeping the baby nice and tight and taut in there," she said.

Cali Drake works behind the scenes at CBS13 and is going to deliver her child at about the same time as Alysia.

"I try to stay as active as I can," she said. "I like to walk the dog a couple of miles nice and easy, a little yoga, stretching but no running."

Dr. William Gilbert at Sutter Hospital has been delivering babies for more than 30 years. He gives Alysia two thumbs up.

"The evidence shows that if they continue to exercise they'll have a better pregnancy outcome," he said.

Alysia says it shows women have come a long way.

"Especially coming from 1980s when they thought that if a woman ran any more than a mile they thought their uterus was going to fall out," she said.

She plans to keep on running until she goes into labor.