BOSTON (AP) 鈥� Ajay Haridasse was close to finishing when his legs gave out. But as he struggled to get up, two other runners came along, lifted him up and helped him about 1,000 feet (305 meters) to the finish line.
The dramatic events unfolded at Monday鈥檚 running of the iconic race. As scores of runners passed Haridasse, his fellow competitors Robson De Oliveira of Brazil and Aaron Beggs of Britain stopped, helped him up and carried him on their shoulders to end of the race.
Pete Grasso, who was watching the race, caught the moment on video when the pair picked up Haridasse.
鈥淭he coolest part about this moment was that these two guys were less than a tenth of a mile away, in the middle of a really, really fast race, and still stopped to help a fellow runner who needed some help. That鈥檚 not easy to do,鈥� Grasso said in an email. 鈥淪eeing them put everything aside in that moment just to get another runner across the line was incredible. And hearing the crowd respond, cheering for them, supporting them, truly gave me chills.鈥�
The North Down Athletic Club in Northern Ireland, where Beggs is a member, hailed his effort.
鈥淲e are immensely proud of Aaron鈥檚 sporting achievements, along with his incredible actions shown at the Boston Marathon, having already endured 26 miles at that point,鈥� the club said in an email. 鈥淎aron is an honest gentleman, and we are delighted to have him as a member of North Down Athletic Club.鈥�
A similar scene played out when runner Lan Nguyen of Washington, D.C., struggled toward the finish. Fellow racers Jessica Kier of Snohomish, Washington, Meredith Rosenberg of Boston and William Bara-Jimenez of Bethesda, Maryland, helped her to the finish 鈥� at one point carrying her part of the way. Nguyen then scooted across the finish line.
Rosenberg, who was on pace for a personal best, said she spotted Nguyen about mile 25 of the race, adding that she 鈥渃learly could not walk. There were medics that were trying to get her into a wheelchair.鈥� But she and the other runners decided to carry Nguyen the rest of the way, passing cheering volunteers as they reached the end of the race. As Nguyen was placed in a wheelchair after finishing, all four of the helpers hugged.
鈥淚 have run 12 marathons. Every finish line is special, but this was just even better to be able to help her get across the finish line and just to know that I was part of that,鈥� Rosenberg said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really what running in the community is about. And it was just incredible. When we put her down, we were hyping up the crowd. People were cheering.鈥�
Jack Fleming, the president and CEO of the Boston Athletic Association, which organized the race, said the actions of these runners is typical of the kindness marathon runners exhibit around the world. Sometimes, it’s just checking on a struggling runner, bonding with strangers for part of the race or, in this case, getting fellow competitors to the finish.
鈥淣o marathon is easy. There鈥檚 no fooling this distance,鈥� Fleming said. 鈥淲e do see marathoners, athletes taking care of each other around the world, not just at the Boston Marathon. It鈥檚 awesome when we do see it at Boston firsthand and up close. But we know that鈥檚 a common denominator in our sport.鈥�
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