Guy proposes to his runner girlfriend at mile 16 of NYC marathon

Neyite

He hopped the crowd barrier and stopped his girlfriend while she was running in order to propose to her.

At the Rio Olympics, the silver medallist He Zi was proposed to on the podium by her bronze medallist boyfriend. The silver medal that she presumably worked bloody hard for all her life became overshadowed by the precious metal around her finger, not her neck.

My initial thoughts to both was "Jesus, could he not just let her have her moment to shine at something she's worked bloody hard at for years and propose afterwards?"

In the runner's case, I'm not a runner but even I know that if you run a marathon, the NYC one is a pretty big deal for many, and also your finish time is usually pretty important too. So to stop her for 5 minutes or so, disrupt her concentration for the rest of the race seems really self centred and egoistic of him.

What do you think? If you were her, would this be your dream proposal or would you be furious? Romantic or stealing her thunder?

Was she proposed to when on the podium or in the middle of her running?

Neyite

At mile 16, so right in the middle.

meeeeh

I think only self centred moron does any type of big public proposal. That being said if the women liked it then it only annoyed the watching public who had to suffer through the nonsense.

I'd be annoyed alright because I'd imagine it would definitely disturb my concentration. I'd probably just keep running, swat him away

Addle

Ya, I actually think it's a bit lazy as well as kind of controlling. Why overshadow someone's personal accomplishment?

Is nothing sacred anymore?
Why can't such a special moment be held in private?
I find it all so cringe.
I've been in a restaurant when there was a proposal and it was just so cringeworthy.

Neyite

I'd have hated a public proposal.

But others I know would have loved a flashmob and instragam the lot, so I suppose it's horses for courses. I've known women who have literally choreographed their own proposal right down to location and what was said.

I remember seeing some televised proposals where it looked like a total unpleasant shock to her and it was only a yes because the cameras were on her and she felt she couldn't say no.

I get that men probably feel pressure to do something different or unique and maybe they don't think that if they are proposing on a day she's achieved/ achieving something important to her it's not hijacking that. It's similar to the faux pas of proposing at someone else's wedding.

But part of me wonders if it's just down to some people thinking that being A Wife is an ultimate goal for every woman and no matter what personal or professional goal we are striving for, they can top it with a proposal.

Imagine all the training she had done for that one race. Probably months of training in order to achieve a certain time.
She should have kicked him in the face & kept on running!!!

Plumbthedepths

Whatever about disrupting her run, i'm sure it impacted other runners who had trained just as hard. Selfish, knobish thing to do. Pity she didn't say no.

eviltwin

Making her moment all about him. I'd be furious, how was she supposed to focus after that.

I don't go into the whole public proposal thing either, it's cringe worthy. Literally no one outside your family and friend base gives a sh1t if you are getting engaged.

miamee

If you are into a public proposal then fine but hopping into the middle of a race that she has trained and worked hard towards for probably months was a really bad move, imo. What was he trying to achieve? Other than show her how he'll be getting in her way for the rest of her life if she says yes :pac: I get that it was a big and special day for her but he should have waited until after the race when she was still on a high from a great day, an amazing achievement and then topped her day off with the proposal.

B0jangles

If he didn't realise that proposing in the middle of a marathon is a really stupid idea because it would totally break her focus and concentration, then he's a massive eejit.

If he did realise this and decided to to it anyway, presumably because it'd get him a lot of attention and facebook likes and shares, then he's an ass.

Either way, he doesn't come out looking good.

astrofool

Neyite wrote: »

I'd have hated a public proposal.

To be fair, to avoid such a scenario, you could have made the proposal (and I'm sure the fact it wasn't public indicated it was the right person somehow), while the pressure is more often on men to propose, some of them will do it in stupid ways, when women start proposing more often, I'm sure many of them will do it in stupid ways as well (and the fact she said yes, indicates that this was a fine way to do it for that particular couple and outrage is being manufactured by people putting themselves in that situation and thinking how it would feel to them).

pwurple

astrofool wrote: »

To be fair, to avoid such a scenario, you could have made the proposal (and I'm sure the fact it wasn't public indicated it was the right person somehow), while the pressure is more often on men to propose, some of them will do it in stupid ways, when women start proposing more often, I'm sure many of them will do it in stupid ways as well (and the fact she said yes, indicates that this was a fine way to do it for that particular couple and outrage is being manufactured by people putting themselves in that situation and thinking how it would feel to them).

Or, having a conversation rather than a proposal. I think surprise proposals are ridiculous tbh. Hey, make a decision about your legal status including inheritance rights and next of kin in a split second...! surprise!


We talked about getting married... he still wanted to do the down on one knee thing, no problem , so we went for a walk by a lake.

Jumping on awards, marathons etc is just obnoxious behaviour. Wouldn’t marry those clowns.

Neyite

astrofool wrote: »

To be fair, to avoid such a scenario, you could have made the proposal (and I'm sure the fact it wasn't public indicated it was the right person somehow).

I didn't have a traditional proposal. It was more along the lines of two adults having a conversation about long term life planning. He suggested that we plan a wedding, I agreed that was probably the simplest way to sort out certain legalities. It happened in our living room and I was in my PJ's. No ring or bended knee or asking someone else's permission.

That would be a massive let down for some, but it was very "us".

Regarding this couple, you can't say for sure that it was right for them any more than you can say it was wrong for them. I think that if I was proposed to in this way, I'd have probably told the media that it was a wonderful surprise and that I was delighted but let rip in private because discussing how his timing sucked and how mad I am at him is not for the public to know.

It's more about a proposal hijacking another important occasion in her life, in this case, something she's worked hard for. It's one thing to propose at the end of the event, but very much another to interrupt it to propose.

I hate the thought of public proposals.

The poor woman can't say no without at least some present thinking she's an absolute bitch for publicly humiliating him even though it might be completely out of the blue to her.

That guy is all about himself. He made a big day in her life all about him and his big moment.

fits

It happened Charlotte Dujardin when she won gold at the London olympics. All I could think at the time was bl00dy men have to take over everything.

Neyite

Candie wrote: »

That guy is all about himself. He made a big day in her life all about him and his big moment.

It could be argued that he even sabotaged it because he certainly affected her final finish time.

It would be similar to bursting into an exam hall to propose to her. She can still pass I'm sure. But those 5-10 minutes of an interruption plus the distraction for the rest of the exam would impact the eventual grade.

The Black Oil

Meanwhile, woman who was sexually assaulted and is partially paralysed after falling off a cliff completed the marathon on crutches. Link