Prince Harry Surprises Marathon Runners In Person In Los Angeles

From ELLE

Having already delivered a special video message to London Marathon participants, Prince Harry decided to surprise runners in Los Angeles this weekend.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the London Marathon is taking place remotely in 2020, with runners completing the 26.2 mile run in locations all over the world. Now that he's based in Santa Barbara, Prince Harry had the opportunity to surprise runners completing the event nearby.

The @3ptriteam Instagram account shared a photo of the Duke of Sussex posing with two of the team's runners. The caption explained, 'Congrats to our very own and husband and wife teammates Mark and Chudney Espiritu being interview by Prince Harry himself the ambassador of London Marathon ❤️❤️❤️ #princeharry @londonmarathon #londonmarathon #londonmarathon2020.'

Chudney said of the surprise encounter, 'So this happened... 😱... We were supposed to run the 40th London Marathon last April, then COVID happened. The marathon was moved to October 4, but COVID is still happening 🤦🏻♀️, so the actual race was changed to a virtual one.

'Runners have the option to run this year’s virtual marathon & still keep a spot in 2021, 2022 or 2023 (pretty awesome work by the organisers). Among all the 6 world marathon majors, London Marathon is the toughest to get into,' Chudney continued. 'London Marathon reached out to us since they are looking for LA runners. They asked if we have an inspiring story to tell behind our love of running.'

According to Chudney, her husband, Mark, told organisers that his wife had an amazing story, which she decided to share. 'I told them about my cancer journey, my sudden urge to take care of myself, how Running just changed my life for the better. I also mentioned that I decided to still run the virtual marathon because it is their 40th & it is my 40th too! ☺️ I also wrote that I’m dedicating this run for my mom, who is battling such a brutal disease.'

Chudney continued, 'I got an email & we were told that the London Marathon ambassador will meet with us. That day was today & we found out that the ambassador was the Duke of Sussex! Prince Harry!!! 😱 He is so laid-back and very down to earth. He actually asked if it is okay for us to sit on the floor. The interview was more of like a chat with a friend. ♥️ What an experience this was. I never imagined myself chatting with Prince Harry. 😅 This is one for the books. I will never forget this day. 🤴🏼💙 Official photos and video will be emailed to us. This was from Mark’s phone. Prince Harry happily agreed to take pics with our phones and yes there were masks, hand sanitisers & social distancing.'

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