Teen takes wrong turn, accidentally runs 26.2 miles

Philadelphia police Officer Andrew Schafer watches as runners make their way down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia at the start of the Philadelphia Marathon, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/ Joseph Kaczmarek)

By: , Associated Press

November 30, 2015

Published: November 30, 2015

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A Pennsylvania teenager's family says he accidentally ran all 26.2 miles of the Philadelphia Marathon because he missed a turn on his half-marathon course.

WPVI-TV reports Evan Megoulas runs on his high school's cross country team in Palmyra, 80 miles west of Philadelphia. He set out to run the 13.1-mile half-marathon. His family was waiting for him at the finish line but became worried when he didn't show up.

They say they gave police a photo of Evan and officers tracked him down in the Manayunk section of the city. He felt good despite missing his turn. He wanted to keep running.

Evan's brother says after he completed the marathon, officers wanted a picture with him.

His time was 5:23:11.

Source URL: https://www.tweentribune.com/article/tween56/teen-takes-wrong-turn-accidentally-runs-262-miles/

Filed Under: Odd news Sports Tweens in the news

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CRITICAL THINKING QUESTION

How could a wrong turn lead someone to run twice as far?

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COMMENTS (187)

tylerm1-wes

12/01/2015 - 09:14 a.m.

A wrong turn can lead someone someone to run twice as far because the person hasn't seen a stopping point so they'll keep running until they see a stopping point or finish line

yusufh-wes

12/01/2015 - 09:18 a.m.

A wrong turn may lead someone to run twice as far because the person that takes the wrong turn may think that people are waiting at the other side,so the person will just keep running.

emilys-ver

12/01/2015 - 09:56 a.m.

This is so funny. I think its funny that he took a wrong turn and he doubled his running distance.I would hate if I did that because I do not enjoy running.

jilliano-mac

12/01/2015 - 11:06 a.m.

This is crazy i could never run that far i would really pass out.I would ask around other runners if they knew where we were and I didn't.

matheoj-cur

12/01/2015 - 11:14 a.m.

Maybe because Evan mixed up things by accident

samanthas-1-ste

12/01/2015 - 01:07 p.m.

Usually in races, the a turn divides a half marathon and regular marathon. The turn led to the longer one, which is why he ran it.

joeg-orv

12/01/2015 - 01:12 p.m.

He was running a half marathon which is a very long distance and you might not notice running that extra long distance. He could also noticed the longer distance but felt good and wanted to keep running.

autianae-ste

12/01/2015 - 01:21 p.m.

The wrong turn resulted in him to run twice as much than what he was supposed to. He is truly an inspiration because of his dedication to running twice as much as the other runners and felt good afterwards. I could never do that.

siobhanw-wes

12/01/2015 - 02:31 p.m.

A wrong turn could take someone far because then it would take them through the whole thing instead of just half or less than half.

marshallh-wes

12/01/2015 - 02:33 p.m.

A wrong turn could lead someone to run double what they were suppose to becaus they could have ended up in the wrong direction and maybe had to double back to run the same thing over or just kept going till they realized they made a wrong turn.

I think this article was interesting because in the article they said he was happy even thought he made a wrong turn and that he kept running the officers also wanted a picture with the boy.