A Hamilton man crossed the finish line of the Buffalo Marathon first last weekend while pushing his two-year-old son sleeping in a pram.
“I told him around mile 20, with about six miles to go,‘ Sutton, I think you’ll be first and I’ll be second. I just need to raise my arms before arrival, “Lucas McAneney told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.
“Of course, he fell asleep just before the finish line,” he added.
The 35-year-old Hamilton resident technically had an additional hurdle compared to the other free runners, but didn’t seem to slow him down.
He finished the race in two hours, 33 minutes and 32 seconds, placing him in first place.
Throughout the race, the father and son chatted about the ambulances, police cars, and construction vehicles they were passing through, as they usually do on a given day. McAneney said his son usually accompanies him in 90 percent of his careers.
“It was very motivating for me too,” McAneney said.
The pair were just two minutes away from breaking the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon race with a stroller, which currently has two hours, 31 minutes and 21 seconds and is in the hands of another Canadian, Calum Neff.
However, trying to break that record was crucial. Without that goal, Sutton might not have been allowed to join his father.
“The only way to make a career out of it was to get an exemption to break a world record,” McAneney explained.
But even the day before the race, Lucas said there was a 50/50 chance of him reaching the marathon.
If the weather had become stormy or Sutton felt ill that day, they should have stayed home. With the 5:40 a.m. wake-up call, they almost missed the race, arriving just five minutes before the start time.
“The fact that we crossed the line first is something we’ll talk about for the rest of our lives,” McAneney said.
With Sutton turning three in July and his feet now hanging from his pram, his father says it might be time for the two of them to run together next time.
“His general love for running as fast as he can is already pretty strong,” McAneney said, pointing to his favorite game: chasing his father in circles in the backyard.
“I’ve had a very lucky runner’s career, but this was the highlight of my runner’s career, which I’m most proud of, without a doubt.”