Pennsylvania teen accidentally runs full marathon, gets police escort to finish line

This year’s Philadelphia Marathon would have been 17-year-old Evan Megoulas’ second half-marathon.

The long distance and cross-country runner from Palmyra, Philadelphia had only just recently run his first half-marathon last month.

He had finished the Hershey Half Marathon in one hour and 38 minutes so his family was expecting him to complete the Philly race in even less time.

Evan’s older brother Peter told Global News that they began to worry when two and a half hours passed and they saw no sight of him at the finish line. They enlisted the help of police, asking them to keep an eye out for Evan.

“It’s a big city and he doesn’t know the city that well,” said Peter. “He has a little bit of a learning disability and we just thought that he could have gotten confused or possibly hurt.”

Turns out, Evan had taken a wrong turn when the half and full marathons split, and he ended up on the course for the full marathon.

“I kept asking people, ‘How many miles do we have left?'” said Evan. “‘Oh, we have 10 miles left.’ I thought, ‘This is not a half marathon!'”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I kept asking people, 'How many miles do we have left?'" said Evan. "'Oh, we have 10 miles left.' I thought, 'This is not a half marathon!'"

Evan said he didn’t turn around because he didn’t want to disturb the other marathoners.

“I got cold and my legs were cramping up. I was just walking half of it and I just finished it! I was surprised,” said Evan.

But he had some help along the way. Two police officers who had spotted Evan joined him for his final six miles.

“The two police officers on the bikes stayed with me until I finished,” he said. “They were like, ‘Come on Evan, you can do it. You’re almost there.’ They were just very nice.”

Evan finished the marathon in 5:23:11.

Peter originally shared his brother’s story on Facebook to applaud the good work of the police.

“I just wanted the good officers to get the recognition that they deserved and it just really turned into an inspirational story for many people, especially for parents of children with special needs,” said Peter.

“It’s crazy how a little mistake – making a left instead of a right – turned into such a huge deal for everyone.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's crazy how a little mistake - making a left instead of a right - turned into such a huge deal for everyone."

Evan, who has Greek heritage, is hoping to run the Athens Marathon, the original marathon, next year.