Monday Motivation: H.S. Runner Piggybacks Injured Opponent Across Finish Line

High school cross-country runner Melanie Bailey may not have won her race, but she certainly reminded everyone what it means to be a good sport.

Last Saturday at the Eastern Dakota Conference Championships, Melanie Bailey, a senior at Devils Lake High School in North Dakota, noticed Fargo South runner Danielle Lenoue limping and sobbing as she attempted to continue the race with what she later learned was a torn patella tendon and meniscus. According to the Devils Lake Journal, the runners were just past the 2-mile mark of the 2.4-mile course when Bailey offered to assist her opponent.

“I felt so bad for her, I had to do something,” Bailey told the Journal.

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At first, Bailey attempted to have Lenoue lean on her for support, but that didn’t seem to work. Then she told Lenoue to hop onto her back and the two crossed the finish line almost eight and a half minutes after the first-place runner.

“Honestly, I loved the way I ended it,” Bailey told ABC affiliate WDAY-TV in Fargo. “It was a great way to end my cross-country season.”