Opinion: end line proposals are a horrible concept

It appears to be a development–a runner finishes a race they’ve skilled for months or years for, crosses the road, and their associate drops to at least one knee and proposes. On the latest UTMB, fourth-place lady Fu-zhao Xiang of China completed in a exceptional time of 24:50:33. Xiang had hardly stopped operating when her associate was given a microphone and proceeded to make a prolonged speech culminating in a proposal.

Xiang stated sure, however the transfer was hotly debated within the race’s live-stream commentary. Some followers shortly jumped to defend her associate’s alternative of proposal, for the reason that couple met firstly line of UTMB in 2019. UTMB maybe was a full-circle second for them, however certainly a proposal after Xiang had loved her second of glory (and perhaps had the chance to place her ft up) would have been simply as particular?

Public proposals are cringey

We’ve all seen the grand gestures at sporting occasions, public ceremonies, and more and more, end traces of races. Not solely does it put one associate very a lot on the spot, with hundreds of enthusiastic eyes on you, there’s loads of strain to say sure–awkward at finest, thoughtless at worst.

#WorldAthleticsChamps race stroll proposal! 💍
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— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 24, 2023

Allow them to have their end line second

Anybody who has skilled for a race of any sort is aware of the hours, months and even years of effort and dedication that go into it. Xiang is a prolific ultrarunner with an extended checklist of accomplishments, however a fourth-place end at UTMB is undeniably an unparalleled achievement.

Crossing the end line at UTMB is one thing most runners that line up dream about–the crowds, the high-fives, the highly effective UTMB anthem booming out of the audio system as your title is introduced. Even when Xiang’s response to being proposed to was an enthusiastic sure, she deserved to have these moments all to herself.

It steals the highlight from different race finishers

Perhaps Xiang wasn’t upset in regards to the proposal–as some followers have argued, we by no means know what goes on in others’ relationships. However her associate failed to think about the opposite runners ending shut behind her. One runner who crossed the road after her had zero fanfare, no title announcement (as Xiang’s fiancé had the microphone) and a second he had in all probability been imagining for some 24 hours went quietly unnoticed.

Even in case you are completely positive your associate is raring for a finish-line proposal, contemplate the opposite race individuals. The end line is for runners, not romance.