BOSTON (AP) 鈥� One of two men who helped carry a fellow runner across the finish line of said he had been struggling earlier himself but drew strength from the supportive crowd.
鈥淚f I had to go farther, I would have,鈥� Aaron Beggs said in an interview Thursday. 鈥淚t’s fight or flight, and I decided to fight and help him get to our destination.鈥�
Beggs, of Northern Ireland, and Robson De Olivera, of Brazil, sprang into action Monday when collapsed about 1,000 feet (305 meters) from the end of the course. Beggs also had been feeling sick and exhausted, but was reminding himself of all the people in his running club who might never get to experience such an iconic race.
鈥淭hen when I came down and up towards Boylston Street, the crowd started cheering and I just turned the corner and happened to see Ajay fall,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 looked at my watch, and I looked at him again, and the natural instinct was just to go and pick him up.鈥�
For Beggs, the moment capped what already had been an incredible experience, from being cheered on by local college students to chatting with a fellow runner wearing his father’s name on his shirt just to hear onlookers call it out.
鈥淲e were shaking hands as we were running, and was like, ‘We鈥檝e got this. Let’s do this together’,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s not like in shorter races where you’re head-to-head trying to beat people. In the marathon, you’re cheering each other on and encouraging everybody.鈥�
Video of the runners’ good deed has gone viral. Beggs said he has been in touch with Haridasse, a Massachusetts native and student at Northeastern University, and hopes to reconnect with Robson as well. Their finishing time was good enough to qualify for next year’s race.
鈥淭hree strangers, three different countries, and we’ll have a story for the rest of our lives,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e all need just a nice story in our lives, just to make us smile, bring a tear to your eye with happiness. And it’s nice to be nice.鈥�
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Aaron’s last name to Beggs, not Breggs.
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