Runner Borrows Catheter In Order To Finish Marathon

Twin Cities Marathoner still won his age-group.

I thought I had heard everything but this story takes the cake as one of the weirdest running scenarios I have ever heard. During the 2009 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. this past weekend, 81-year-old Jerry Johncock (yes that is his real name), began having issues in later stages of the race. Mr. Johncock set the 80+ American record for the marathon at the 2008 edition of the race with a 3:59:12 clocking, but had no such luck this time around.

Mr. Johncock figured out that he had a small blood clot in his urethra and needed to use a catheter in order to “relieve” himself. After stopping at a medical station around 21 miles he learned that they did not have the supplies he needed. To Mr. Johncock’s luck, a spectator overheard his dilemma and told him that he had an extra catheter in his car that Jerry could use. Well, Mr. Johncock was happy to borrow the catheter and, get this, performed the necessary functions without the assitance of medical staff. Mr. Johncock was soon relieved and back on the road to finish the race in 5:22:17.

If you actually want to learn more about this, check out this article by TwinCities.com.