Crawling to end of the finish line: Overdone?

Doin' it for the #gram

ekw wrote:

This particular marine runner was the ONLY runner that I saw collapse who refused anyone's help. If he felt that he had to do it 100% himself in order to properly pay homage to his fellow marines, let him do that. It's up to him. To think that he somehow contrived the entire incident along with the media for his own gain is fair-fetched at best.

Have you met people before? Or observed the reality of the social media era?

I don't know if this guy cooked up this idea in advance of the race. However, I bonked hard in my first marathon after running the first half at a 30-second faster pace than I trained for. By mile 20 I was done running and by mile 23 I was limping in extreme pain to the finish line. I fell at mile 25 and scraped the hell out of my knee and had multiple people from mile 18 or so until the end ask me if I was okay and encourage me to drop out if I needed to.

I can't imagine the extent of injury the guy had (especially a former marine) to be completely unable to finish the race without crawling the last 50 feet. If he was truly that hurt - heart or leg pain - they should have stopped him immediately for medical attention. I haven't read the fine details of the story, so I'll just assume (wrongly I also assume) that he was whisked away quickly to a hospital for treatment. Because no one is dragging their busted body 50 feet across a finish line without something seriously wrong.

But apparently there was nothing seriously wrong as he's on the TV circuit now seemingly just fine.

He's just one very Dumb douchebag muhreen. What a serious Douche! smh

The dude had knee pads pads on. It was clearly planned out.

That's how awareness and charity works I guess wrote:

You guys just made it about you.

Absolutely not, we are all just anonymous people posting our opinions on a message board.

This is still very much about HIM. He got his appearance on Good Morning America.

Ciro wrote:

That's how awareness and charity works I guess wrote:

You guys just made it about you.

Absolutely not, we are all just anonymous people posting our opinions on a message board.

This is still very much about HIM. He got his appearance on Good Morning America.

Exactly. It’s hard to make something about yourself when you are doing it anonymously. Logic fail.

come on plase wrote:

The dude had knee pads pads on. It was clearly planned out.

Indeed. Not like Julie Moss @ '82 Ironman

If you cannot stay upright at a marathon, you should be pulled off the course immediately and given medical attention. Dehydration, hyponatremia, and cardiac events are all medical issues where seconds count in a big way. If it is just exhaustion, then the runner can get medical attention and then have a chance to walk it in safely. But it is just a race. No one should be allowed to put themselves in serious physical jeopardy just because they are using the race as a tribute. Letting people crawl to the finish like that sends a terrible message to amateur runners. It says that the marathon is some sort of super special life event that justifies putting yourself at serious risk. It is not. It is just an endurance race. Runners should be told in no uncertain terms that if they do not feel right, they need to stop and get medical attention immediately. The policy at every race should be that if you cannot stay upright, you will be taken off the course for medical attention.

Seriously. Anyone capable of crawling 50 feet to cross the finish line after having already run the rest of the way would be able walk and or limp. If he were rolling his body or something, then maybe. But this guy was obviously doing it for attention whether he thought it up ahead of time or not. The fact he refused help further indicates that he was doing it for attention, someone suffering from severe dehydration etc... wouldn't have even been with it enough to refuse help and continue on crawling. Complete publicity stunt.

PLUS.....TROOOPPPSSSSSSS!!!!!!

And as I mentioned in my previous post on page 1, I saw probably 10+ others who had also fallen within 100 feet of the finish line but who welcomed help from either baa/medical staff or fellow runners who would let the runner rest on their shoulders and try to limp to the finish, or to be downright carried across the line. Medical staff never ventured past the finish line onto the course unless a fallen runner was sitting/laying on the ground without runner support helping them up.

No medical staff ever brought a wheelchair across the finish line onto the course unless requested after initial triage, and then they brought an ambulance gurney, not a wheelchair. Everyone else was lifted by runners or medical staff across the finish line and THEN plopped onto a wheelchair and wheeled to the medical tent.

It was very weird and many of us in the media up on the bridge where scoffing at the whole ordeal just saying that it was ridiculous that there was some kind of unsaid agreement that medical attention was not as important as finishing the race without wheelchair assistance... (as if being carried is better than being wheeled?). That being said, all the camera operators and photographers would hone their cameras onto said runner being carried as if it was some valiant story to follow.

------

As I said before, I HIGHLY doubt there was any collusion between the marine crawler and the media. If the marine thought that by crawling he would end up on TV and getting onto talk shows, that would have been a huge gamble because countless other runners in nearly the same situation are not being the ones talked about right now.

Cheaterflys!!!

Happens even to elite athletes -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liCRrheKIOI

Completely glycogen depleted at the end of a triathlon, having no more control of his legs.

Shouldn't he get a DQ for wearing headphones?

Have to admit that I saw it all as drama, look at me. He could have gotten to his feet and walked, but then, he wouldn't be all over the internet.

Drama Quuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeen.

The douchebag had headphones??? In a crowded marathon like Boston??? I had to weave and tap a couple a**holes running on Monday with their headphones completely oblivious of their surroundings and changing lanes without looking around, esp. around water stations. Idiots!!! Luckily, only a few but enough of them to get under my skin in the first half...

Now, I lost all the respect for him!!! Call me cynical, even though I posted the link to WaPo site about his motivations but, on second thought, it was a bit too much;)

LateRunnerPhil wrote:

Completely glycogen depleted at the end of a triathlon, having no more control of his legs.

It's not from glycogen depletion, it is from muscular failure. If it was just not enough sugar in the tank, they could still just jog it in.

Why is a photographer even posting here anyway? Pics?

I like people who run the full marathon - Donald Trump.