Ontario man wins Buffalo Marathon pushing sleeping two-year-old son in stroller

An Ontario man crossed the finish line of the Buffalo Marathon in first place last weekend while pushing his sleeping two-year-old son in a stroller.

“I told him around mile 20, with about six miles to go, ‘Sutton, I think you’re going to be first and I’m going to be second. Just put your arms up right before the finish,’” Lucas McAneney told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.

“Of course, he fell asleep right before the finish,” he added.

The 35-year-old Hamilton resident technically had an added obstacle compared to the other free-handed runners, but it didn’t seem to slow him down.

He finished the race in two hours, 33 minutes and 32 seconds, ranking him in first place.

Throughout the race, the father and son duo chatted about the ambulances, police cars and construction vehicles they were passing, just like they usually do on any given day. McAneney said his son typically accompanies him on 90 per cent of his runs.

Lucas McAneney runs the Buffalo Marathon with his two-year-old son Sutton in a stroller on May 29, 2022 (Supplied).

“It was extra motivating for me too,” McAneney said.

The pair was just two minutes short of breaking the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon run with a stroller, which currently sits at two hours, 31 minutes and 21 seconds and is held by another Canadian, Calum Neff.

However, attempting to break that record was crucial. Without that goal, Sutton might not have been allowed to join his father.

“The only way to do a race with him was to get an exemption to break a world record,” McAneney explained.

But even the day before the race, Lucas said it was a 50/50 chance they would actually make it to the marathon.

If the weather turned stormy or Sutton felt sick that day, they would have had to stay home. With the 5:40 a.m. wake up, they almost missed the race, arriving just five minutes before start time.

Two-year-old Sutton photographed on the day his father won the Buffalo Marathon (Supplied). “The fact that we crossed the line first is something we are going to talk about for the rest of our lives,” McAneney said.

With Sutton turning three in July and his feet now dangling out of his stroller, his father says it might be time for the two to race side-by-side next time.

“His general love for running as fast as he can is pretty strong already,” McAneney said, pointing to his favourite game – chasing his dad around in circles in the backyard.

“I’ve had a pretty fortunate running career, but this was the highlight of my running career, the one I’m most proud of for sure.”