An American woman secretly entered her husband in a marathon with just a day’s notice after he bragged he could finish the grueling event without any preparation.
California resident Maisie Todd thought it would be ‘funny’ to sign up her 32-year-old husband Logan Goodspeed for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego after listening to him boast that he could run one without any training.
Todd, who documented the whole event on TikTok, gave her husband just 24 hours notice.
‘Being woken up at 6am on a Saturday [with the news] didn’t feel good,’ said Goodspeed, who says he hasn’t participated in sport since high school.
‘It was also exciting because I talk a big game, and it was time to put my money where my mouth was.
‘Running is definitely not a passion.
Maisie Todd thought it would be ‘funny’ to sign up her husband Logan Goodspeed (pictured) for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego – giving him just 24 hours notice
Goodspeed (pictured with his wife) isn’t a fitness fanatic and says he hasn’t participated in sports since high school
‘I did sports in high school but ever since I graduated, I haven’t been very active.’
The day before the race, the couple bought a pair of second-hand running shoes and stocked up on race snacks.
Health experts warn against running a marathon with no training, citing the risk of rhabdomyolysis – a condition where muscles are injured so badly that the fibres start to break down, leading to muscle death.
When this happens, toxic compounds enter the circulatory system and reach the organs.
Around 26,000 people in the United States develop the condition every year, with approximately one in 20 of those dying.
Goodspeed says he didn’t take any notice of the naysayers, confident that he could get the job done.
‘I started running and jogging and did that for about 10 miles and felt surprisingly good about it the whole time,’ he said.
‘I ran into a bunch of people that had seen me on TikTok the day before, and they cheered me on.
Despite the risk of contracting a potentially deadly health condition, Godspeed (pictured with his wife) soldiered on through the event
Goodspeed proved he was right – eventually finishing the race five hours and 58 minutes
‘I knew I was going to finish so it just became a mind game of how I was going to get there.’
Goodspeed eventually finished the race, half-walking and half-running, in a respectable five hours and 58 minutes.
‘I felt a little bad about it because everyone else had trained for months and I was like ‘please don’t be mad at me,’ he said.
‘The goal was to get within seven and then I realised, I did the math about halfway through and realised I could break six if I wanted to.
‘I didn’t have too much emotion [at the finish line].
‘My knees hurt and I was focused on walking.
‘It was always a fun hypothetical question to ask people and now it’s been answered.
‘You can finish a marathon with 24 hours’ notice.
‘The day after was not good, everything hurt.
‘Stairs were a problem.
‘I still just kept drinking plenty of fluids and stretching as much as I could.’
Despite earning bragging rights at home, Goodspeed isn’t interested in attempting another marathon.
‘I think my running career started and ended on Sunday.’