Fixer Upper's Chip Gaines crosses marathon finish line hand-in-hand with 8-year-old daughter Emmie Kay
In a heart-warming picture at a charity event, Chip Gaines finished his first marathon hand-in-hand with his 8-year-old daughter Emmie Kay. The 'Fixer Upper' star managed to complete his 2018 goal last Sunday by participating in the Silo District marathon in Waco, Texas thanks to a collaboration with Gabriele Grunewald who is a cancer survivor and a professional runner.
Chip Gaines' pregnant wife, Joanna Gaines, documented all the milestones that the father-daughter duo accomplished by putting up many Instagram stories for fans and followers to see. The final photograph and video clip which was taken at the end of the race that Joanna Gaines posted won many hearts across the internet.
In the video clip, Joanna wrote, "Finishing with Emmie Kay" in addition to posting three crying emojis to symbolize the beautiful bond between the HGTV host and their 8-year-old daughter who will no longer be their youngest child once the couple has their fifth child, a baby boy.
Emmie Kay is believed to have joined her father towards the end of his journey around 25 miles and jogged the rest of their way together, finishing hand-in-hand as Joanna's pictures captured.
The Gaines have four children together, Drake, 13, Ella, 11, Duke, 9, and Emmie Kay who have all helped their father prepare for the marathon training since the beginning by leaving him snacks and many motivational notes. Joanna Gaines has also supported her husband and even rode on a golf cart alongside him as he ran the marathon.
Finishing the marathon was nothing short of a massive physical achievement and accomplishment for Chip who was inspired by Grunewald's story of courage and resilience while battling cancer since the year 2009. It was also done for a personal cause as well and the event was held to raise money for the Brave Like Gabe Foundation which is an organization that funds research on rare cancers and treatments.
In total $250,000 was raised from the Silo District races for the Brave Like Gabe Foundation whose initial campaign goal was to raise $50,000. As reported by Runner'sWorld, "I can tell you this beyond a shadow of a doubt, that thing is a doozy. That’s a difficult race to run, but hopefully, this is just the first of many," Gaines said to the crowd.
"It’s an admirable thing to take on a marathon when you’ve never done any race before. I think it went well, I think he has a lot more in the tank, though. If he wants to run faster, he can for sure," Grunewald said.
"She [Grunewald] has overcome so much, and given what she’s gone through, I had no excuse not to give this thing a shot," Chip Gaines revealed. Grunewald's cancer is one of those forms which currently does not have a cure and so to honor her cancer battle, a 100% of the profits from the races went towards the foundation.
"It’s amazing that they’re taking this cause on with this event, and I totally appreciate that. Chip is a guy who just wants to give back to a variety of causes, and I feel very fortunate and grateful that he sees rare cancer research as one of those worthy causes," Grunewald said.
"To have the support like this is a game-changer," she added.
In a post that Joanna dedicated to her husband, she wrote, "Chip, I couldn’t be prouder of you. I am thankful for your big heart and big vision. Go get ’em this weekend, and you better believe I’ll be the first in line at the finish to give you the biggest hug!"