Father Wins THREE Marathons to Help Save His Baby BoyBryan Morseman, 29, from Bath, New York, started his streak at the Montgomery Marathon in Alabama on March 14.

He ran the Tobacco Road Marathon in Cary, North Carolina, the next morning because it was one the way home to New York. A week later he placed first at the Yeungling Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach.

In total, the full-time precious metal clerk earned $5,750 in winnings from the races, all of which will go toward medical treatment for his nine-month-old son Leeim, who has spina bifida.

‘Every time I’m in a race I think of him and how my pain is nothing compared to what he has gone through,’ Morseman told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. ‘He gives me the energy shot to pick me up and carry me through to the finish.’

Leeim was born with spina bifida, a developmental congenital disorder that starts in the womb when a baby’s spine doesn’t form properly.

Father Wins THREE Marathons to Help Save His Baby BoyImage Credit: Bryan Morseman

Since his first 26.2-mile race in 2008, Morseman has won 23 of the 42 marathons he’s participated in. And he takes each race as it comes, not training for a specific race.

‘I don’t like putting all my eggs in one basket,’ he said. ‘When you only run a few, you waste time, training and money if it doesn’t go well.’

Father Wins THREE Marathons to Help Save His Baby BoyImage Credit: Bryan Morseman

Bryan Morseman (right), pictured with his wife Sarah and son Leeim in 2014, has been running marathons since 2008. He has won 23 of the 42 26.2-mile races he has participated in.

And last spring, Morseman and his wife Sarah were told their unborn sun was diagnosed with spina bifida, a condition that develops in the womb when a baby’s spinal column doesn’t form properly.

If the condition is untreated, it can lead to brain damage, loss of leg usage and other heath problems.

Following a series of doctor’s appointments, Morseman, his pregnant wife, and their now two-year-old son went to Philadelphia so Sarah could undergo prenatal surgery, which led to Leeim being born on June 20.

Nearly ten months later, Leeim does physical therapy three times a week, but it is  unknown as to whether or not he will be able to walk.

Father Wins THREE Marathons to Help Save His Baby BoyImage Credit: Bryan Morseman

Leeim was born prematurely because if spina bifida is left untreated, it can lead to brain damage and loss of leg usage

Father Wins THREE Marathons to Help Save His Baby BoyImage Credit: Bryan Morseman
Father Wins THREE Marathons to Help Save His Baby BoyImage Credit: Bryan Morseman

Morseman said that knowing he’s raising money for his son give him ‘the energy shot’ he needs to win races

As for Morseman, he trains for his races during his lunch breaks and late at night after his sons are asleep. When it’s dark, his wife follows him in the car.

The life-long runner’s personal best is 2:19:57 at the Pocono Marathon Run for Red Mountain, which he’s won four times, last May.

He ran his three March races in 2:24:40 in Alabama, 2:32:39 in North Carolina and 2:24:10 in Virginia.

As an ultimate goal he’d hope to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trails, which has a standard of 2:18 to get in. But Morseman has other things on his mind.

‘We’ll see,’ he told the Democrat and Chronicle. ‘Other things happen in life. Right now, my family is far more important than qualifying.’

The Morseman family has created a GoFundMe page to help pay for medical bills.

Father Wins THREE Marathons to Help Save His Baby BoyImage Credit: Bryan Morseman

Morseman said his family is very supportive of him running marathons. He trains during his lunch breaks and late at night when his sons are asleep.

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