Good Samaritans help runner in need cross the finish line
PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - We showed the video of two men helping another runner in distress yesterday. FOX 29 News caught the special moment at Sunday's Philadelphia Love Run Half-Marathon. Now, we're hearing from that woman's family and the Good Samaritans.
If you know Joe McGinty and Bryan Crnkovic then you know Philadelphia's running community.
READ MORE: Meet the heroes who helped runner in need cross finish line
"It's always let's go. You're looking great. It's just real positive," McGinty told FOX 29.
The training buddies took FOX 29's Chris O'Connell for a run around South Philly as the overnight social media heroes described what happened at the finish line of this weekend's Love Run Half-Marathon.
"I was thinking she was about to go down. That she needed help, I just stopped," Crnkovic said.
In the dramatic video now gone viral, 21-year-old Haley Klinger, from Lancaster County, nearly collapses. Her knees buckle from dehydration just 50 feet from the finish line. In the video, you see Crnkovic and another man help Haley to her feet. Moments later, that's McGinty picking up Haley in his arms. The UPS driver and triathlete carried her to just inches from the finish line so she can her cross herself.
"Just picked her up and said let's go and got her to the finish line," McGinty said.
"She is well today. She's back in school. She's studying. She's recovered from dehydration," Harry Klinger explained.
Haley's father, Harry Klinger, joined us on the phone from Florida. His daughter is an athlete at Messiah College outside Harrisburg. She prefers to stay private while studying for finals.
"Just so appreciative that someone was so unselfish to stop running their race to help her cross the line," he said.
They haven't met Haley but hope to some day. For these guys it's a simple good deed--one that's been seen millions of times over. But tomorrow it's back to the jobs at Verizon and ups as new heroes.
"They want that glory of walking over that line and I don't want to take that away from her. She earned it," McGinty said.