A 26-year-old runner is being celebrated on social media after revealing that she ran the entire New York City marathon drunk.
Justine Huang, a seasoned marathoner, decided she was going to ‘slow down and interact with spectators’ as she finished the 26.2-mile run on November 3.
‘As a competitive person, I have the mindset that I want to run as fast as I can. 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,’ she told KBPS.
By the end of her five hour and 36 minute race, she had consumed innumerable snacks and about seven drinks.
‘I wanted to eat all the food I saw and then drink whatever the spectators were bringing,’ Huang said.
‘That was my plan going into this race. But I didn’t expect how much food and drinks there would be.’
She started with candy, but then ‘the first guy handed me, I think, a shot of Hennessy,’ Huang said. ‘After that, it got really, really lit.’
Soon enough, three people handed her beers and friends who came to cheer her on with special signs in hand brought her shots of liquor.
Justine Huang, a seasoned marathoner, decided she was going to ‘slow down and interact with spectators’ as she finished the 26.2 mile run on November 3
Aerial shot videos shot by Huang herself while she ran show her chugging the drinks with various people as crowds applauded
Aerial shot videos shot by Huang herself while she ran show her chugging the drinks with various people as the crowds cheering her on applauded.
In a now viral video, which has garnered nearly 12 million views, the boozy runner could be seen drinking Prosecco out of a red solo cup.
‘[I had] four or five shots of liquor and then maybe another four or five half cups of beer,’ she recalled.
The idea to have a drinking-marathon came to her after she got the opportunity to run both the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the New York City Marathon – just three weeks apart.
While she set her sights at creating a new person record at the Chicago Marathon, it was the NY Marathon where she decided to have fun, especially since multiple friends were going to be joining her.
‘I wanted to go hard for Chicago because I had a time goal to beat. And so that was what I focused on,’ she said.
Talking about she was hydrating and making sure her body did not crash, she noted: ‘I also did stop at every single water station that the marathon provided.
‘I would chug down two cups of water and two cups of Gatorade at every station. But I did have to go to the bathroom at least six times during the race.
While she set her sights at creating a new record at the Chicago Marathon, it was the NY Marathon where she decided to have fun, engage with the spectators especially since multiple friends were going to be joining her
In a now viral video which has garnered nearly 12 million views, the fun-lover is also seen drinking Prosecco out of a red solo cup
‘This was like during the course of maybe five or six hours. So I wasn’t pounding alcohol within the span of like 30 minutes or something.’
Huang added that by the end of the challenge, her stomach was ‘surprisingly fine’, despite this being the first time she had ever consumed anything other than gummies, water and electrolyte drinks on a long run.
Huang’s incredible experience comes a week after it was revealed that a running influencer received a lifetime ban for competing in the New York City Marathon while flanked by ‘two unauthorized people riding the course on electric bicycles,’ according to race organizers.
Matt Choi, who posts videos of himself running and offering training tips on Instagram, was disqualified from the race and his time of 2:57:15 has been vacated after his performance across the five boroughs on Sunday.
‘After a review and due to violations of World Athletics rules, and New York Road Runners’ Code of Conduct and Rules of Competition, NYRR has disqualified Matt Choi from the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon and removed him from the results,’ the nonprofit, which organizes New York races, said in a statement. ‘He has been banned from any future NYRR races.’
Choi is pictured running in Brooklyn during the New York City Marathon on Sunday
Somewhat surprisingly, Choi isn’t fighting the ban and has admitted that the electric bicycles obstructed other runners on the day.
‘E-bikes don’t belong in races,’ he wrote on Instagram. ‘No excuses. I was selfish & take full accountability of my actions. I apologize to all the runners impacted. I accept my DQ & lifetime ban from @nyrr. Never again.’
Choi admitted in a self-shot Instagram video that he had his brother and a videographer following him around the course on Sunday.
‘I was selfish on Sunday,’ he told his followers, while admitting that the bikes prevented some other runners from accessing water stations.
A native of Austin, Texas, Choi was among the 55,000 finishers at the marathon on Sunday, finishing nearly an hour after the winner, Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands.
