A woman won the BMW Dallas Marathon in Texas over the weekend after a kind stranger repeatedly helped to her to her feet after she collapsed just before the finish line.
Chandler Self, 32, was leading the race when she went down during the final stretch. That’s when Ariana Luterman, 17, who was also participating in a portion of the race generously helped Self up — an act that was widely praised, according to Inside Edition.
Self said after the race that her “legs started turning to Jell-O” around the 24th mile and that by mile 25.5 she couldn’t hold herself up as she forged toward the finish line.
“When I watch that video, I think I cringe like everyone else,” Self told the outlet of her collapse. “Ariana, the 17-year-old high school student, was really trying to help me out. I even tried to push her away but her heart was overcome with kindness and compassion for me that I think she was like, ‘I gotta help her.’”
In the end, with Luterman’s help, Self crossed the finish line first and won the marathon.
It should be noted that Luterman was not Self’s direct competitor in the race and was running just the final two-mile stretch for her high school team. In the end, the teen said she was happy to help out.
“I do feel very lucky, and I’m very grateful that I was able to be in that position and help Chandler Self, but I can honestly tell you that had it been anybody else they would have done the exact same thing,” Luterman told The Dallas Morning News. “All the kids that are on the relay are just incredible people.”