Northeastern student — helped to the Boston Marathon finish line — is back on his feet and on co-op
Northeastern University student Ajay Haridasse collapsed just before the finish line of this year’s Boston Marathon. Two days after the finish, he was back at his co-op working at the New Balance headquarters.
Not two days after collapsing about 200 strides before the finish line during this year’s Boston Marathon, fourth-year Northeastern University student Ajay Haridasse was back on his feet, working at the New Balance Headquarters in Brighton while on co-op.
“I’m, like, completely OK now,” Haridasse told Northeastern Global News.
About 1,000 feet before the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street between Dartmouth and Exeter streets, Haridasse’s legs gave out and he hit the ground. There were only about two-tenths of a mile to go to complete the 26.2-mile event.
At that point, the 21-year-old distance captain of the Northeastern Club Running fell over multiple times because of severe cramping before fellow runners Aaron Beggs and Robson De Oliveira helped him to the line. He finished with a time of 2:44:32.
Footage of the incident on Monday went viral, garnering millions of views across TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms as people expressed interest, concern and admiration for the trio’s tenacity.
“I’ve just never seen this many videos of myself — or my full name — on the internet,” he said. “It’s kind of weird, but nothing’s really changed. People just know my name now.”
Haridasse said he felt good coming into the race, having qualified with a strong time during a course last year.
Nia Quinn, a fourth-year computer science and math major at Northeastern and member of the Northeastern running club, said Haridasse created the training plan club members used to prepare for the marathon.
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“You can’t see all of the sacrifices that he made to be able to get there,” said Quinn, who finished the marathon at 3:33:46. “When he was trying to motivate himself to get up and run, all I could see were the months of hard work and grit that led to that point. So I was just incredibly proud with how hard he was trying and that he was able to be helped across the line.”
About four months ago, his training had been disrupted by some back troubles, though he dismissed the setback as “just an excuse,” and added that he’d done “everything I could” to be prepared.
The plan was to maintain a 5:50 pace, or roughly five to six minutes per mile. He started strong alongside friend and runner Ryan Strawbridge, who is also a Northeastern student, for the first 15 miles. At that point, the two were pacing about six seconds slower than they’d trained for, Haridasse said.
Strawbridge moved on ahead while Haridasse began to feel some soreness in his quads — a feeling he didn’t quite expect to come on so early in the race.
“I knew at that point I wasn’t going to throw in the towel,” Haridasse said. “There were still 11 miles left. So I was telling myself to stay in it and just get to the end.”
But those 11 miles continued to take a toll.
“I mean, my legs were just very heavy by mile 22,” Haridasse said. “I’d say that’s when some of the cramping started.”
In an effort to reset himself, Haridasse stopped at the 23rd mile, somewhere in Brookline, to stretch his hamstrings. Even though his pace had slipped, he was still passing his Northeastern Club Running friends and teammates around the 25th mile in Kenmore Square.
“As soon as I got onto Boylston, I passed my mom and my sister,” Haridasse said.
That’s when things took a sudden turn.
“The feeling of not being able to continue running was very, very sudden,” he said. “I thought I had enough fuel during the race, but I was just really dehydrated. The cramping was just incredible.”
It’s also when Beggs, a 40-year-old runner from Northern Ireland, and 36-year-old Oliveira, of Brazil, stopped to help.
“I was completely out of breath, so I couldn’t really say much,” he said. “But the first guy just put his arms out and I just grabbed them.”
That was Beggs. “For some reason, my instincts decided to take over,” Beggs reportedly said.
Seconds later, Oliveira swooped over to help stabilize Haridasse. With one arm each, the two supported Haridasse across the finish line. Attempts to reach Oliveira and Beggs were unsuccessful.
“I remember [Oliveira] pointed to the finish line and said, ‘Just get there,’” Haridasse said. “I think I said, ‘Yeah, let’s go.’ I was trying everything, but they were doing the majority of the lifting.”
After the race, Haridasse spent about an hour in the medical tent. He said he felt so restless that the medical staff couldn’t get an accurate blood pressure and oxygen reading. “It’s kind of blotchy, to be honest,” he said of his memory. “I was so out of it.”
But after drinking some fluids, restoring electrolytes and getting some rest, Haridasse rebounded quickly. He’s had a couple of solid nights of sleep and returned to work at New Balance on Wednesday.
While his body may be slowly moving on, his mind is still processing those final minutes of the race.
“I wanted to give the race everything I had,” he said. “And I think I did that.”
