Mixed-Up Israeli Runner Starts London Marathon at Finish by Mistake
Image by Facebook
A police officer from Haifa was the last runner to start this year’s London Marathon after he mixed up the finish line for the starting line.
Interviewed by the BBC near the starting line, Hagai Penkar explained that he showed up first at the finish line on Sunday after plugging the wrong information into his internet browser and then lost 38 minutes dealing with London traffic.
Running the 26 miles in 5 hours, 12 minutes and 18 seconds, Penkar finished ahead of some 8,000 runners, according to Haaretz. The race had 39,045 registered runners, including eight Israelis.
Penkar looked on the silver lining of his mistake, telling the journalist: “It took me time to get to the start line, but I met you and I’m speaking and I’m fresh.”
Noticing his interviewer was out of breath from running alongside him, Penkar told her: “Start running more so next time you will be in better shape.”
He added: “I love the United Kingdom and wish everybody in the race, feel well at the end line and a good time.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
