A video of a woman crawling over the finish line at the Two Oceans Marathon 21.1km event on Sunday has gone viral with viewers split on whether battling to get the finish in such pain was a good thing or not.
The video from the official Two Oceans Marathon Facebook page had already garnered 664,000 views by Monday morning, and was captioned “Victory isn't always personified by a strong finish and a medal—sometimes it looks like crawling, carrying, and showing up for one another. This is the heart of #TTOM A finish line moment we’ll never forget!”
In the 19-second video, the woman can be seen crawling on all fours while she battles to make it to the line.
The final few seconds of the video see the woman collapse over the line, in what will be credited as a finish for the race.
The importance of listening to your body during endurance events
With no update from Two Oceans Marathon on the runner, it’s unclear how quickly the athlete received medical attention or whether she has made a full recovery.
One comment on the post, by Joanne Clegg which received 267 likes and a number of replies read: “This post is irresponsible. You are encouraging people to push through an abnormal amount of pain. Pain is the body's way of telling you that things are not lekker. People die during sport because they're not fit enough and don't read the signs. No one should be finishing 21km like this.
“Well done to the lady for finishing regardless.”
Running indeed ceases to be a healthy pursuit when over-exerting oneself, as I speak from over 25 years of experience as a road runner. I’m also proud to say that I have indeed dropped out of a few races when my body was not cooperating, and I was able to avoid further medical implications as a result.
The video of the lady from Two Oceans Marathon also reminded me of when elite women’s athlete Jenna Challenor crawled her way over the finish line of the Comrades Marathon in 2022.
Even though Challenor is an elite athlete, she is not immune to over-exertion, and her body began failing as she entered the stadium of the gruelling ultra-marathon event. In fact, despite her crawl to the finish, Challenor still managed to finish fourth in the women’s race.
Whether a regular or elite athlete, it’s never a good idea to completely ignore the warning signs of your body, and I firmly believe that the spirit of races isn’t found in instances like these.
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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