Indecisive Runner Causes Quarter-Mile Backup at Marathon Aid Station
/
depositphotos.com
A runner at an Indiana marathon yesterday dithered at the event’s first aid station, Dumb Runner has learned, causing a massive backup and angering scores of runners behind him.
Walter Donovan, 43, seemed nervous even before reaching the aid station at the Crescent Moon Marathon, sources said, and then stopped cold once he got there.
“I was running next to him, and he sort of freaked out when the aid station came into view,” said one fellow runner, who asked not to be named. “He was, like, ‘Oh my God, look at all those cups.’”
That anxiety turned to paralysis, the source said, once Donovan came abreast of the table, filled with roughly 100 identical paper cups filled with water; the first-time marathoner came to an abrupt halt, causing several runners to nearly crash into him.
“Which one do I pick?” Donovan said, wringing his hands. “They all look so good.”
The indecision quickly prompted anger and exasperation among the runners behind him, who ultimately were backed up for nearly a quarter-mile.
“Just grab one!” several runners told Donovan.
“They’re all the same!” said others.
After weighing his options for almost a minute, the source said, Donovan opted to take nothing.
“I’ll wait and see what’s available at the next one,” he said.
