🥇 When being a loser isn't so bad

When Joel Kaufman claimed official last place in the New York City Marathon last weekend, he was on top of the world.

🏆 Wait, last place?… The 65-year-old runner crossed the finish line in just over 8 hours 30 minutes, claiming 51,258th place. 

• Joel crossed the finish line with arms held high and a grin ear to ear. The runner shared he "was loving every second of it. It wouldn't have mattered if [he] was last or a thousand people faster."

⏰ Picking the official loser... The NYC Marathon officially ends 8 1/2 hours after the start of the race. While there were still around 40 runners to finish after him, Joel happened to be the next person to cross the finish line just after the timekeepers announced the official ending 

• The retired math teacher used a "walk-walk" strategy, alternating between two minutes of a fast walk alternating with one minute of a slow walk for the entire 26 mile course. 

• When he started getting blisters on his feet around mile 11, he used the support of fellow runners and encouraging spectators to keep going. 

❤️ Marathoning for a cause... This race wasn't his first; Joel has run ten marathons total, six of them being the New York City Marathon. And he's run all of them for the Team in Training, a charity that supports the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

At $100,000 raised and counting, Joel doesn't plan on stopping any time soon. And whether he's last place or first, we'll all be here cheering him on🥳.