In what was a gut-wrenching victory, the winner in the female's race at the 2017 BMW Dallas Marathon had a few falls before crossing the finish line.
Chandler Self took the title, the first female to run an unofficial time of 2:53:58. Self, a psychiatrist in New York City, graduated from Texas A&M University.
She was leading by several minutes in the women’s full marathon and then completely ran out of steam. Her legs started giving out from under her. She fell down several times in the last minute of the race but still won.
Ariana Luterman, a high school runner from Greenhill Academy, ran alongside her and helped Self cross the finish line. Self was treated after finishing the race and completed post-race interviews with WFAA. She's headed back to NYC later this afternoon.
Keith Pierce, the winner in the men's division, ran the race with an unofficial time of 2:27:17. Pierce is head of cross country at McKinney Boyd High School.
Defending champ, Keith Pierce, is our male winner of the 2017 BMW Dallas Marathon with an unofficial time of 2:27:17! #RUNBMWDALLAS
— BMW Dallas Marathon (@DallasMarathon) December 10, 2017
About 20,000 runners attended this year, according to marathon president Paul Lambert.