What would you do if you spotted a fellow runner struggling to keep his legs moving nearing the finish line at a marathon race? Would you ignore him, offer him encouragement while continuing to move on yourself or signal to a nearby first aider to attend to him?
During the London Marathon 2017 nearing the finish line last Sunday, David Wyeth was clearly in trouble and it seemed inevitable he would have to give up on the race. However, Matthew Rees, 29 the Swansea-based Good Samaritan decided to intervene by helping David Wyeth over the finish line.
“I saw him try to stand up again and his legs just went down again, and I thought, ‘This is more important,’ ” said Rees, 29. “Getting him across the line is more important than shaving a few seconds off my time.”
“I went over to try to help him and every time he tried to get up he just fell down again and again, so I just tried to cheer him on, picked him up and said: ‘Come on, we can do this’.
? This is incredible! Swansea Harrier Matthew Rees helps a struggling runner cross the line at the #LondonMarathon pic.twitter.com/Fg83sBfpoo
— BBC Wales News (@BBCWalesNews) April 23, 2017
Rees said that when he spotted Wyeth he knew there was “no other option” but to lend a hand. “I had to help him, he’d come 26 miles and the finish was just there. When I went over and spoke to him, you could see how determined he was.
“He said, ‘I need to finish.’ I said, ‘We will finish, we’ll finish together.’ ”
Despite the signs of extreme exhaustion, both men finished the race in less than three hours.
More than 40,000 runners took part in the London Marathon 2017, which began at Greenwich Park and Blackheath. Waiting for them at the finish line were the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Mary Keitany of Kenya broke Paula Radcliffe’s 2005 world record, winning with a time of 2:17:01. Her time beat Radcliffe’s by 41 seconds.
Daniel Wanjiru, also of Kenya, was the men’s winner in 2:05:56, holding off Kenenisa Bekele (2:05:57) of Ethiopia.
