Teen Gets Lost, Runs First Marathon

Evan Megoulas, 17, says the mistake turned out 'pretty awesome'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 25, 2015 11:35 AM CST
Teen Gets Lost, Runs First Marathon
Runners make their way down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia at the start of the Philadelphia Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015.   (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)

A teen completed his first marathon in Philadelphia on Sunday—by accident. Evan Megoulas, 17, of Palmyra had planned to run the half-marathon but made a wrong turn 13.1 miles into the race, reports WPVI. Worried when he didn't turn up at the half-marathon finish line, family members shared a photo of Megoulas with officers, who tracked him down at the 20-mile mark and learned that he was OK and wanted to finish. At one point, "I asked someone where the finish line was, and when they told me it was still 10 miles away, I was all out of sorts," Megoulas tells PennLive. After completing the full race in 5:23:11, "he had some big old blisters and could hardly walk," his dad says. But Megoulas says the experience was "pretty awesome and rewarding." (The same mistake worked out pretty well for this woman.)

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