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Dad finishes Vancouver marathon with baby girl in his arms

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Theresa Civantos Barber - published on 07/14/23
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Marathoner picks up his baby from the sidelines and they cross the finish line with the crowd cheering!

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Running a marathon is an extraordinary accomplishment under any circumstances. 

It’s all the more impressive when you’ve got a new baby and have to find time to train while being sleep-deprived and extra busy.

One dad celebrated finishing his marathon with a special tribute to his family. He picked up his baby girl from the sidelines and crossed the finish line holding her in his arms!

New family tradition

Morgan Lockhart and wife Julia are the parents of baby Emmy. When Morgan ran the BMO Vancouver Marathon on May 7, 2023, he decided to create “a new family tradition” of crossing with his daughter. 

He shared a video of the moment on his Instagram page, writing:

Finished the Vancouver Full Marathon holding my baby and just created a new family tradition. I knew I wanted to share this special moment with my baby girl, and there was this moment where as soon as I grabbed her, we both paused and leaned back and looked at each other, and I could see that she finally knew that it was me. She waited hours for me at the finish line and her smile said it all. 

You can see the video here:

The triumphant finish was made all the sweeter by the enthusiastic applause of spectators, who loved Lockhart’s loving gesture. He wrote:

What I didn’t expect was to get the reaction from the spectators that we did. The crowd roared as we ran through the finish line corral. Thanks everyone for being there and for the support, thanks for sending me your videos, and a big thank-you to all the spectators and volunteers who made this event possible.

Lockhart is an avid sportsman, and he's even got his own apparel company, Au Canada Apparel, dedicated to exploring the great outdoors and "bringing Canadians together from coast to coast."

"Incredibly blessed"

As impressive as his accomplishment was, his wife also deserves some big kudos for handling things on the home front so he would have time to train. Lockhart seems to be very appreciative and grateful for her support! He wrote in other Instagram posts:

Happy Mother’s Day to the best wife/mother a man could ask for. Julia is strong, loving, and incredibly caring and nurturing. I don’t know how she does it all, but I’m incredibly blessed to have her by my side.

Happy birthday to my beautiful wife! She is a loving partner who is incredibly generous and hospitable. She always gives her best and pours 100% into everyone and everything around her. She’s a shining example of what it means to be a Godly woman in every aspect of her life. Thank-you for choosing me; I’m the luckiest man alive

This beautiful couple is now preparing to welcome their second baby, a little boy. Perhaps their baby boy will be the next one to cross the finish line with Dad. 

Lockhart shows us the joy and love between a parent and child. We wish this sweet family all the best!

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