Sarah Sellers’ life has developed a unique cadence.

“I run a marathon, then have a baby,” Sellers outlined to NBC Olympics. “Run a marathon, have a baby. Then, run a marathon again.”

Now nine months after giving birth to her second daughter, Brynn, Sellers will run another marathon. It’s a big one: the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on Saturday.

Sellers, whose oldest daughter Emery is 3 years old, made her marathon debut in 2018 when she blazed to a second-place finish at the Boston Marathon. She also raced in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials where she finished 11th.

Sellers’ pre-kids life at the time of her triumph in Boston was dramatically different than it is now.

“Even during sleepless nights, I’ll look at my cute little babies and just be so happy that I get to be their mom,” Sellers said. “It’s the best thing in the world.”

Sellers, 32, loves running. So just six days after having Emery in 2021, the Ogden, Utah, native was back on the grind, doing her best to run.

“I started, but I was very uncomfortable,” Sellers said. “I still felt like I was pregnant. I was very naive.”

She read that Kara Goucher once set her personal record just seven months after the birth of her son, running a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, 52 seconds at the 2011 Boston Marathon.

“I thought, ‘If she can do it, I can do it,’” Sellers said. “I ignored the fact that I felt terrible.”

Around six months postpartum, Sellers finally took some much-needed rest. When she returned, Sellers said she felt like herself again.

Now, she’s primed for the Trials with a fresh mindset.

“Being a mom puts everything in perspective,” Sellers said. “In college [at Weber State University], I remember being the first person to not make nationals. I don’t think I slept for a month after that. I was just so upset about it.

“At this point, I’d be disappointed, but it wouldn’t be this earth-shattering thing. Running is for fun. It’s not defining my life anymore.”

Sellers’ program even features a new training partner. Her oldest daughter joins her for jogs around the block.

“Emery always wants to go on runs with me,” Sellers said. “And I think she’s a good little runner.”

Sellers will roll up to Orlando with Emery, Brynn, her husband, Blake Sellers, plus her parents and many siblings.

Regardless of her result at Trials, she knows the post-race family plan: Disney World.

“Emery knows we’re going to Disney World,” Sellers said. “But she knows I’m running a race first.”

Natalie Callister

The athlete: Callister is a 34-year-old native of Kaysville, Utah, and is actually Sellers’ sister-in-law.

“She has been a great teammate and mentor to me as I have gotten back into marathon training and racing,” Callister wrote.

Callister qualified for Trials by running a time of 2:36:46 at the 2023 Bakline’s McKirdy Micro Marathon. After a dominant high school running career, her time running at Weber State was cut short due to injury. She later made her triumphant return to competitive running at the 2022 Indy Monumental, her first true marathon. Two years later, she embarks on the Olympic Trials for the first time.

The mom: Callister and her husband, Marcus Callister, have four children: Dallin (age 9), Archer (7), Rose (5) and Myla (2). She calls raising her kids her greatest accomplishment.

Keira D’Amato

The athlete: D’Amato, 39, has never competed at an Olympics but is considered one of the favorites to earn a spot in Paris. In July 2023, she set the American half marathon record with a time of 1:06:37 at the 2023 Gold Coast Half Marathon. She also ran the 2022 Houston Marathon in 2:19:12, the second-fastest time ever for a U.S. woman. Nearly 16 years after taking a break from running in 2008, D’Amato is on the cusp of an Olympic spot.

The mom: D’Amato and her husband, Air Force Lt. Col Anthony D'Amato, are proud parents of two boys: Thomas (9 years old) and Quin (7).

Sara Hall

The athlete: Hall, 40, is the fourth-fastest U.S. woman to run a marathon, clocking in at 2:20:32 in 2020. She also has both a second-place finish at the 2020 London Marathon and third at the 2021 Chicago Marathon under her belt. Like D’Amato, Hall has yet to qualify for an Olympics but is among the top contenders in Orlando.

The mom: Hall and her husband, Ryan Hall — who holds the U.S. half marathon record (59:43) — adopted four sisters from Ethiopia in 2015: Hana, now 23; Mia, 20; Jasmine, 16; and Lily, 13.

“We chose to adopt from Ethiopia for a number of reasons, one of which being that there are over 4 million orphans in this country alone and though adoption is only one fractional solution to this orphan crisis, for those few it is life-changing,” Hall wrote on her blog.

Elaina Tabb

The athlete: Tabb, a 32-year-old first-time Trials participant, qualified at the 2022 California International Marathon, dashing to a time of 2:28:04. While this is her first Olympic Trials in the marathon, she did compete at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the 10,000m.

The mom: Tabb gave birth to her daughter, Kalliopi, on September 3, 2023, exactly five months before Saturday’s Trials.

Sara Vaughn

The athlete: Vaughn earned her spot on the Orlando starting line by running a blazing 2:23:24 time at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. The 37-year-old graduate of the University of Colorado had mostly succeeded as a middle-distance runner, but after giving birth to her fourth child, Vaughn made the switch from miler to marathoner.

The results were a smash hit. Moving to the marathon distance, Vaughn won the 2019 California International Marathon with a time of 2:26:53.

The mom: Vaughn is a proud mother to four children: Kiki (age 17), Calia (13), Cassidy (8) and David (4). Kiki recently committed to Northern Arizona University and is a star runner at Boulder High School.

“It’s a dream come true to get to train with her a little bit,” Vaughn explained to NBC Olympics. “She’s very speedy, and I’m more into the marathon, so she can kick my butt on interval workouts.”

Vaughn gave birth to Kiki as a junior in college. The challenges stemming from balancing school and being a mother led her and her husband, Brent Vaughn, to launch a childcare non-profit to support student-athletes in similar circumstances, the Vaughn Childcare Fund.

“I fund a lot of it through my race winnings,” Vaughn said. “We have had a steady flow of applicants, and I just hope it grows from there. I saw an opportunity to make people’s lives a lot easier. I’m blessed to have the ability to contribute to it financially.”