BOSTON — Ajay Haridasse was close to finishing the Boston Marathon 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’s 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.
“The 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’s not easy to do,” Grasso said in an email interview. “Seeing 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.”
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 – at one point carrying her part of the way. Nguyen then scooted across the finish line.
Boston Athletic Association, which organized the race, said in a statement that it was inspiring how fellow runners help those struggling runners reach “the most historic finish line in all of road racing on Boylston Street.”
“The uplifting spirit of the running community to help one another, especially in times of need, is on full display on Patriots’ Day – not just at the finish, but all along the race route,” the organization said, adding that 29,101 of the 29,470 racers finished.
