Mom speaks out after video goes viral of her picking up kids’ trash ... at a 5K race

A mom is going viral for her reaction when her kids screamed her name as she crossed the finish line of a 5K race ... so she could pick up a piece of trash they dropped.

She tells TODAY.com it's all in a day's work for a mother.

An Instagram video filmed by her husband shows Kacy McKenzie of Tennessee crossing the 5K finish line on July 20 when her children, ages 6 and 7, yell, “Mommy! Mommy!”

Rather than cheering for her, McKenzie’s kids wanted her to pick up a piece of trash, dropped by their friend from the sidelines and into the running path.

“I’m going to tell her to pick it up,” one of her sons said in the video.

“Yeah, let me stop what I was doing and help everybody. That’s what moms do,” McKenzie said sarcastically (but with a smile) in the video, bending down to scoop up the litter and hand it back before running off to celebrate with teammates.

Some blamed McKenzie’s husband for not supervising so his wife could celebrate her victory, writing, “Daddy should’ve really redirected the kids here. Or at least cheered himself" and “The fact that Dad didn’t correct the incredible selfishness is WILD.”

“That look said ... Dad couldn’t pick that up?” someone remarked.

McKenzie, 36, tells TODAY.com that she posted the “hilarious” video because, “As (moms), this is our life day in and day out.” While she was first “fired up” by the interruption, she defends her husband.

“Bless his heart — he was trying his best to get this video, like I had asked,” she says, adding, “I have a supportive husband.”

McKenzie had just finished the 40-minute race when she heard her kids calling. She turned toward her family when she realized she was being asked ... to clean up. She believes the object was a piece of trash.

“I’m thinking, ‘What in the world — what are these little rug rats doing?’” she says. McKenzie says she felt torn: While she instinctively picked up the trash, she considered “having a word” with her kids. Instead of making a scene, McKenzie says she made a light but “spicy” comment that meant, “Cut me some slack.”

“As a mother who loves her family, I never thought to not pick it up,” she says. “It didn’t cross my mind.”

Comments were sympathetic toward McKenzie while dubbing her the “default parent,” a term for moms who are asked to solve problems, even when dads are present, a situation that can lead to resentment or burnout for mothers. Some comments included:

“OMG this is hilarious! Way to go, Mama!!!!!”

“This is the most relatable reel ever.”

“Love her for calling out the bullsh-- on the way.”

“Never get a break.”

“Another married single mom.”

“The way I would have (run past) my family and pretend I didn’t know them.”

“Not a high five, no verbal praise, not even a please or thank you … I’d keep running.”

McKenzie says her video shows both the privilege and the burden of being the “default parent.”

“You can look at it in two ways: Kids want you to do something for them, but ‘don’t they understand that the moment is bigger than them?’” she says. “It’s also a privilege that they know moms are there to help. That’s our role, too ... my son knew Supermom was coming.”

McKenzie says, “The negative comments aren’t based in reality.” She’s pleased that her video “hit my target audience,” meaning moms with a sense of humor.

“This happens to moms 100 times a day — maybe not at the finish line of a 5K, but it’s an all day, everyday thing for us,” says McKenzie. “I’m happy that my kids see me that way but ... it’s not always easy being the hero.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com