Too busy being first to finish first.
A runner in Delaware was steps away from winning a marathon — only to get left in the dust when a rival racer blew right past him at the finish line after he celebrated a few seconds too early.
A viral video posted on Instagram showed the near-winner jogging toward the finish line at the Delaware Marathon Running Festival on Sunday with his arms raised in celebration.
Unbeknownst to him, though, another contender about 50 yards behind him had kicked it into high gear and was closing in fast.
As the second-place runner surged toward the finish line, a man recording the viral video is heard cheering him on with pure excitement.
With his arms raised and mere strides from the finish line, the initial first-place runner was passed at the last second by the laser-focused competitor and lost the race.
“He got it! He got it!” the filming is heard screaming.
The winner, 24-year-old Joshua Jackson of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, clocked a stunning 2:43:11, edging out his celebrating opponent, Carson Mello, by just two seconds at the finish line, according to Chrono Track, a race timing and event management company.
The viral video — viewed more than 400,000 times since being posted — drew a flood of comments pointing out the lesson the second-place finisher should take away from the moment.
“Never celebrate til you cross the finish line!!!” one user wrote.
“He was taking that victory stroll too soon!” wrote another.
“Gotta run through the tape my boy,” another commented.
The Delaware Marathon Running Festival, the state’s first and largest running festival, has been held annually since 2004, taking runners through historic downtown Wilmington along the Brandywine River and Jack Markell Trail before finishing at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park, according to the City of Wilmington.
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