Mike Kohler, a 26-year-old plumber from Fargo started running too early — and he just didn’t stop. Kohler had intended to run the half-marathon at the Sanford Fargo Marathon, but he accidentally ran the whole thing.
Man accidentally runs a full marathon after thinking he was only running half
“I’m already here, I’m already running, I’m already tired. Might as well try to finish it.”
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images for IRONMAN
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
The Grand Forks Herald caught up with Kohler, who started running 15 minutes before the half-marathon start time. This put him with runners attempting the full 26.2 miles, and he didn’t realize what happened until he was over eight miles in, and noticed the course was diverging from the path. When he was at the halfway point he thought about stopping, but decided against it.
“I’m just going to go for it, because why not? I’m already here, I’m already running, I’m already tired. Might as well try to finish it.”
It took Kohler just under six hours to complete the marathon, and despite going the distance he still only has a half-marathon medal to show for it — because that’s what he registered for.
Now he’s thinking about running a half and full marathon again, to do them properly.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen someone accidentally run a marathon either.
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