BOSTON — One of two men who helped carry a fellow runner across the finish line Boston Marathon He said he was struggling earlier but drew strength from the supportive crowd.
“If I had to go further, I would have done it,” Aaron Biggs said in an interview Thursday. “It’s fight or flight, and I decided to fight and help him reach our destination.”
Biggs, from Northern Ireland, and Robson de Oliveira, from Brazil, sprang into action on Monday when Ajay Haridas It collapsed about 1,000 feet (305 m) from the end of the course. Biggs was also feeling sick and tired, but he was reminding himself of all the people in his running club who might never get to experience such an iconic race.
“Then when I got down and up Boylston Street, the crowd started cheering, and I turned the corner and I happened to see Ajay fall,” he said. “I looked at my watch, looked at him again, and the natural instinct was to go and get him.”
For Biggs, this moment was the culmination of what was already an amazing experience, from the encouragement he received from local college students to chatting with a fellow runner who wore his father’s name on his jersey only to hear spectators calling him out.
“We were shaking hands while we were running, and we said, ‘We’ve got this. Let’s do this together,'” he said. “It’s not like in the short races where you’re trying to beat others head-on. In the marathon, you’re cheering each other on and cheering everyone on.”
A video of the contestants doing good has gone viral. Biggs said he has been in touch with Haridas, a Massachusetts native and student at Northeastern University, and hopes to reconnect with Robson as well. The finishing time was good enough to qualify for next year’s race.
“Three strangers, three different countries, and we’re going to have a story for the rest of our lives,” he said. “We all need a sweet story in our lives, just to make us smile, and bring tears to your eyes of happiness. And it’s nice to be kind.”
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Aaron’s last name to Biggs, not Briggs.