Dad wins 3 marathons in 8 days for young, sick son

Bryan Morseman didn't plan to run three marathons in an eight-day span last month, let alone win all three road races.

But that's just what the Steuben County father of two did.

A lifelong runner, Morseman, 29, of Bath has won 23 of the 42 marathons he's run since his first 26.2-mile road race in 2008.

But racing for Morseman isn't about the accolades. He runs for the love of the sport, but just as importantly, he runs to pay medical costs for his youngest son, 9-month-old Leeim, who has spina bifida.

Each win, each purse, goes toward those bills.

"Every time I'm in a race I think of him and how my pain is nothing compared to what he has gone through," said Morseman, who works full time as a precious metal clerk for World Kitchen Inc. in Corning. "He gives me the energy shot to pick me up and carry me through to the finish."

Three wins in eight days

On March 14, Morseman won the Montgomery Marathon in Alabama, with a time of 2:24:40 and about 31/ 2 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. The following morning, Morseman said he ran the Tobacco Road Marathon in Cary, North Carolina, since the race was on the way home to New York, he said.

For the second straight day, he broke the tape at the finish line, this time in 2:32:39. This time, he ran nearly 13 minutes faster than the second place runner, according to race results,

One week later, on March 22, the family traveled to Virginia Beach where Morseman ran his fastest marathon of the week at the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon. Morseman won his third marathon in eight days with a time of 2:24:10.

And, he said, for the first time in his distance running career, he ran a marathon with negative splits, which means he ran the second half of the course faster than his first 13.1 miles.

Morseman had placed second in the 2011 Shamrock Marathon and was familiar with the course. He said he decided to push hard "and see how fast I could go."

His effort paid off.

"All three races really played out well and right into my hands," Morseman said, noting that he ran all three marathons while leading the pack at a comfortable pace. "But that said, with no one around me, I think I could've pushed myself farther and could've gone faster."

And, he said, all three wins were incredibly emotional. With his three-peat feat, Morseman earned $5,750.

Morseman was registered for all three marathons, but said he wasn't sure he would run any or all of them until just before each race day.

He said he takes each race as it comes and reminds himself, and others, not to dwell on expectations.

Running for Leeim

Last spring, Morseman and his wife Sarah learned their unborn son was diagnosed with spina bifida, a developmental congenital disorder.

Following a flurry of doctor's appointments that brought the family briefly to Rochester, the Morseman family went to Philadelphia for more than 3 months so Sarah could undergo prenatal surgery.

The procedure went well and on June 20, a premature but healthy baby Leeim was born.

Spina bifida develops — while still in the womb — when a baby's spinal column does not form property. If untreated, it could lead to brain damage, the loss of being able to use one's legs and other health problems. Leeim, a preemie, spent several weeks at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"It was an eye-opening and eye-watering experience," Morseman said of his time in Philadelphia.

While his wife was hospitalized, Morseman lived in nearby Camden, New Jersey, with his oldest son Alden, now 2. "It was just heart-wrenching and a complete game-changer."

The family returned to Bath last summer and looks forward each day.

Leeim undergoes physical therapy three times each week, but Morseman said it remains unclear whether his son will ever be able to walk.

Going the distance

A native of Addison, Steuben County, Morseman has always loved running. He ran both track and cross country in middle school, high school and college, for two years at both State University of New York at Cobleskill in Schoharie County and Mansfield University in Pennsylvania.

After years of running mostly 5- and 10-kilometer races, Morseman said he was itching to run longer distances.

"If I do it, I do it," he said with a laugh.

Morseman was 23 when he ran his first marathon — the Wineglass Marathon in Corning — in October 2008 several months after he graduated from college. He was the second person to cross the finish line, in 2:27:45. Morseman went on to win his hometown race two other times (in 2011 and 2014) and plans to run it again this fall, he said.

Though it's the lone marathon on his fall racing schedule, Morseman said he expects something else will come up.

Unlike most endurance athletes, Morseman does not train with a coach or toward one or two marathons per year. His racing calendar varies, but has included as many as 11 marathons in 12 months during his post-college running career, he said.

"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."

Although many marathons around the globe are on his bucket list, Morseman has limited himself to domestic races.

"It would be nice to go overseas, but I won't go without (my) family," he said. "If they can't go, I don't go."

Morseman credits his family and employer for supporting his quest. He trains during his lunch break and late at night after his sons are asleep. His wife follows in a vehicle when he hits the road.

Morseman said he doesn't want to over train or "do too much. Then again, you never know if you can do something unless you try," he said.

He ran his personal best of 2:19:57 at the Pocono Marathon Run for Red Mountain last May (he's won that race four times), but Morseman said his ultimate goal is to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. (The standard to get in is 2:18.)

"We'll see," he said. "Other things happen in life. Right now, my family is far more important than qualifying."

VFREILE@DemocratandChronicle.com

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