By now, many of you have seen the footage of a random runner, looking delighted with himself, leading at the start of yesterday's London Marathon, after full-out sprinting from the off and putting himself ahead of the race favourites.
The man's name is Richard Lee-Wright, and may have reminded Irish viewers of a certain Tommy Tiernan bit from one of his past stand-up shows.
The hilarious clip below shows Tiernan describing a man he knows called Declan Moffit, who, like Mr. Lee-Wright, enters a marathon and goes off with the favourites at the start of the race.
Tommy Tiernan Stand-Up
Ran with Richard (in blue) last week, he told us he was going to sprint off and lead the London Marathon for a few hundred metres , thought he was taking the piss but he did it 🤣🤣#LondonMarathon pic.twitter.com/dkAqfL2CW5
— Lee Hooper (@LeeHooper1) October 2, 2022
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Richard Lee-Wright spoke with the media after the race about his unique experience, and how it came to pass.
"It all started about six years ago. A friend and me were watching the London Marathon and he said, obviously, that they run really fast. I told him “I could lead the London Marathon” and he said there was no chance.’
"I’d told people for years that I was going to do this and they laughed at me and didn’t believe I could do it.
‘When I put my arm in the air, that’s probably because I realised my dream had come true, and that I’d done it.
"I had to catch the elites and squeezed to the front of them, I just kept going. If Usain Bolt had been there, I’d have gone for him.
‘Today has been incredible. I hadn’t been feeling very well in the morning, but then the support and atmosphere was just amazing.
"When I got the messages from all my friends, I couldn’t believe it, I was sat there laughing to myself. It created a lot of joy. Out of everything, that was really special to me, the fact it brought a smile to everyone’s faces."
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