Delaware marathon runner moments from winning race starts celebrating a little too early and his decision cost dearly

A man who took part in the Delaware Marathon on Sunday is no doubt kicking himself after he began celebrating a tad too early. Footage taken at the finish line and posted to TikTok shows a man throwing his hands in the air as he leads the race only to be overtaken mere seconds before he was about to cross the finish line.

The viral video serves as a lesson to all to never celebrate too early. In it a man can be seen a fair way in front of the rest of the marathon runners. In front of him, the finish line. With only a handful of steps before him victory seems assured and for a moment, the man allows himself the joy of reveling in his win. The problem was he hadn’t crossed that finish line yet.

During that brief period in which the man’s guard was down an opportunistic runner decided to take the win for themselves and teach a valuable lesson at the same time. The camera catches the moment the man in second place breaks out into a full sprint to catch up and overtake the would-be winner. 

Onlookers can be heard cheering for the underdog as he uses his remaining energy. Despite there being quite a distance between him and the man in first place he’s able to close the gap quickly, running past and snatching first place with hardly any time to spare. 

You snooze you lose

According to an article from the New York Post, the winner’s name is Joshua Jackson of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He finished the marathon with an impressive time of 2:43:11. Meanwhile, the guy he overtook, Carson Mello, finished just two seconds slower.

While Joshua’s last second win may sting for Carson it’s a valuable lesson and many people online agreed, comparing it to the children’s folktale of the Tortoise and the Hare, “There was a kindergarten story to warn you about ts too,” reads one TikTok comment. On Instagram another person advised, “Never celebrate til you cross the finish line!!!”

Others commended Joshua for having the energy to move so fast after running a literal marathon, “The fact he can sprint that fast at the end of the marathon is absolutely insane,” commented one person. “Who has that much power to SPRINT after 26.1+ miles !?!” asked another.

You’ve got to give it to Joshua, he certainly showed strength and determination and it paid off. The video serves to remind us all how important it is to never give up just as much as it reminds us not to take your foot off the gas too early.