In Toulouse, France, a city near the Spanish border, residents are only allowed to leave their homes for exercise once a day, and must fill out a form explaining their exact intentions. For those adhering to the new regulations, that means a quick jog or cycle along the city’s riverbanks. For more blasé residents, though, it’s manifested in mini-running clubs, which are gathering each day to enjoy temperatures of 60°F, quarantine measures be damned.
That misbehavior didn’t sit well with Elisha Nochomovitz, a Frenchman who lives in an apartment building in the Toulousain suburb of Balma. Nochomovitz had been training for a marathon before COVID-19 ground life to a halt, so in a dual effort to A) prove he could still run 26.2 miles, no matter the environment, and B) show the city’s runners that they needed to take shelter-in-place more seriously, Nochomovitz did the obvious: he ran an entire marathon on his balcony.
Nochomovitz’s balcony is just 23 feet in length, and he ran back and forth across it for an incomprehensible six hours and 48 minutes. Lord knows what that did to his ankles and knees, but his mental state seems surprisingly intact. Speaking to the Associated Press, Nochomovitz said,”It was about launching a bit of a crazy challenge and bringing a bit of humor, to de-dramatize the confinement situation.”
Apparently his downstairs neighbors were cool with #BalconyMarathon2020, as was his girlfriend, who fed him water and M&M’s during the run. Nochomovitz reports that thinking about the work of medical professionals helped him reach the finish line. Well done to the Frenchman, though we’d recommend not trying this at home, if you can still get outside for a run. Just remember to run by yourself, stay six feet away from fellow pedestrians, and try to sprint up a hill once in a while.
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