Putting the 'run' in 'drunk': Woman finishes New York City Marathon while consuming alcohol
Putting the "run" in "drunk." A woman finished the New York City Marathon while consuming alcohol all throughout.
Justine Huang, 26, joined the Nov. 3 marathon while under the influence of alcohol, as she shared her experience in several TikTok entries.
In an entry set to Imagine Dragons's On Top of the World, Huang is seen downing shots and a beer, eating candy, and greeting friends along the track.
"staying hydrated at the nyc marathon!!!" she said in the caption with the hashtags #nycmarathon, #marathon, #runningtok, and #drink.
It has over 3.9 million views, 667,000 likes, and 18,500 saves to date.
In another entry which has over 11.7 million views, Huang filmed herself taking beer from a friend before throwing the consumed cup on the ground.
Huang told NPR she had "four or five shots of liquor” and then “four or five half cups of beer” throughout the 26.2-mile (42.1-km) marathon.
She said that since getting accepted to the Chicago Marathon, which took place three weeks earlier, she decided to become more relaxed during the New York one.
"I wanted to go hard for Chicago because I had a time goal to beat," she is quoted as saying. "That was what I focused on."
As for New York, she said she wanted to eat all the food she saw and then drink whatever the spectators were bringing.
"That was my plan going into this race,” she said. “But I didn't expect how much food and drinks there would be."
Huang clarified that her alcohol consumption was spaced out over several hours.
"I wasn't pounding alcohol within the span of like 30 minutes or something,” she said, adding she ensured stopping at every single water station.
"I would chug down two cups of water and two cups of Gatorade at every station,” she said.
Huang finished the New York marathon in 5 hours and 36 minutes. She finished 4 hours and 14 minutes in Chicago.
Though she didn't beat her personal best, she said she has "no regrets."
“As a competitive person, I have the mindset that I want to run as fast as I can," she said. "But forcing myself to slow down this time—spending time with spectators and friends who came out to support me—made this experience so much better than I thought."
This year’s New York City Marathon was officially the world’s largest marathon to date, with a total of 55,646 finishers.