Running a marathon requires months of training, plenty of determination and, when the legs really start to hurt, perhaps a little encouragement from the crowd.

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For runners at the 2026 Sydney Marathon, that encouragement came in an unexpectedly fluffy form.

A dog named Maggie has become an online sensation after footage captured her enthusiastically dishing out high-fives to runners as they passed during the Sydney Marathon on Sunday, August 30.

Positioned behind a barrier at the side of the course, Maggie was held up at just the right height to greet competitors making their way past.

And plenty of them couldn’t resist.

Rather than simply running by, athletes reached across to touch Maggie’s outstretched paw, turning part of the marathon course into what social media users quickly dubbed an emotional support pit stop.

The wholesome moment was shared on Instagram by @allengongora alongside the simple caption: “bit of serotonin.”

That description turned out to be pretty accurate.

Footage of Maggie’s efforts exploded online, amassing more than 36 million views as people around the world enjoyed watching runner after runner briefly interrupt the gruelling business of marathon running for an interaction with a dog.

While some competitors offered Maggie a quick high-five without breaking stride, one runner decided a paw simply wasn’t enough.

He stopped completely.

The runner approached Maggie and planted a kiss on the pup’s head before continuing with his race, sacrificing a few seconds in pursuit of a very different kind of marathon reward.

It was a decision that quickly won over viewers.

One person claiming to be the runner in question appeared in the Instagram comments and wrote: “I’m the one who kissed that gorgeous puppy… better than an energy supplement…” The comment itself attracted more than 564,000 likes.

And judging by the wider reaction, plenty of people agreed with his decision to temporarily put the clock to one side.

One viewer wrote: “I immediately want to be friends with the guy who stopped to kiss the pup. That’s a person with proper priorities.”

Another joked: “Instantly refueled his stamina for the last 10k. Best pit stop ever”

Someone else described the interaction as: “Emotional support pit stop. 10/10 would lose a few seconds for this.”

Another comment simply read: “I hope the guy who stopped PR’d”

Others were equally taken by Maggie’s role in proceedings.

Instagram user @kiran_krutanjali wrote: “That’s like a bucket of serotonin”

Another viewer described Maggie as: “A lovely motivator.”

And one commenter put it: “Emotional support pit stop. 10/10 would lose a few seconds for this.”

The identity of the four-legged supporter was eventually revealed in the comments, with Instagram user Kevin Tjoe saying the dog is his and confirming her name is Maggie.

And, unbelievably, ANOTHER gorgeous dog has also gone viral for offering support from the sidelines.

Instagram user @paristier shared footage of their golden retriever also dishing out high-fives to runners in a video that has amassed just shy of 900,000 views.

The Sydney Marathon may have been about humans covering a huge distance on foot, but one of the weekend’s most widely shared moments belonged to a couple of dogs standing on the sidelines.

Featured image credit: Instagram/@allengongora (screenshots)