'I'm not going to drop out with shit all over me'
During an international marathon in California, a professional runner pooed herself three times, with the first being at mile seven.
Veteran runner Addi Zerrenner, 25, attended the California International Marathon on December 5 only to spend most of the race wrapped in foil blankets.
Zerrenner finished the 26.2-mile race in just two hours, 42 minutes and 49 seconds despite the very messy situation. While she may have run with soiled legs and shoes from mile seven, this didn't stop her and she was able to finish 30th out of 3,133 women with a personal best.
"This was probably my proudest finish ever," the runner told
Insider.
While the marathoner wasn't technically ill, it is believed that her pooey situation was down to the pre-marathon dinner where they ordered the mushroom pasta.
"I was like, 'OK, just let it come'," she said.
"I didn't know it was going to be so much."
For 21 miles, Zerrenner ran at a sub-six-minute-mile pace while she "let it come" two more times. She learned later that onlookers assumed it was dirt, blood or brown athletic tape.
Tragedy struck at mile 21 when Zerrenner's legs felt like they "gained 50 pounds each" - but she refused to quit.
"I'm not going to drop out with shit all over me," Zerrenner said while telling
Insider about the ordeal.
"I'm going to finish with shit all over me."
The wife of a fellow runner who was more than used to such mess was happy to help, relocating Zerrenner to a bathroom where they plugged their noses with tissue paper.
"I'm walking in the streets of Sacramento pants-less, shoe-less, and with crap all over my legs," she added, while also noting that she suspects the hotel concierge thought she was homeless.
"I'm finally at a point in my life where the only thing I care about what people think of me is the internal," she said.
The story does have a happy ending and the runner has since received countless supportive messages and even one who says she inspired him to run.
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