Man Gets Down on One Knee Moments After Girlfriend Crosses Marathon Finish Line
Extravagant marriage proposals can be a ball, but what’s even more special is when the proposal setting holds a significant meaning to the couple.
Stephanie Solt had only ever run a half-marathon. When it came time for the 25-year-old to participate in the 26.2 mile Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, she stepped up to the challenge.
Solt’s boyfriend, 32-year-old JT Mylan, cheered her on. The pair works out at the same gym together on a regular basis.
Little did Solt know that everyone at the gym knew marathon day would hold a much bigger meaning once she reached the finish line.
According to TribLIVE, Mylan had been planning to propose to Solt when she reached her goal and finished her first full marathon.
But no one expected Solt to be slowed by a terrible pain in her right knee at the 20 mile mark. She wondered then if she would be able to make it until the end.
“The people on the sideline kept cheering me on and calling me by the name I had on my bib,” Solt told TribLIVE. “It was just amazing. And I said ‘God, just get me through this.'”
God did get her through and when she realized she was going to be able to finish, Solt says she was “almost in tears.”
Solt finished the race in 4 hours, 55 minutes.
When she crossed the finish line she wanted nothing more than to sit down and rest, but the security guards had other plans and directed her off to the side.
“And here’s JT at the finish line and I’m like ‘What are you doing here?'” Solt shared with TribLIVE. “He puts the medal on me and pulls out the ring and goes down on one knee, and I said ‘Oh my goodness!’ I was speechless.”
A video taken by the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department captured the precious moment and posted it on Facebook.
The caption reads: “From high fives with Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Chief Schubert at the finish line to a proposal! Congratulations to our Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon Runners of Steel!”
Stephanie told TribLIVE this was her “one and only marathon,” but the marathon of a beautiful life together with the man she calls her “best friend” has only just begun.
“I was just so ecstatic that I get to marry my best friend,” Solt said. “It didn’t take away from the moment. It just added to the joy of finishing my first marathon.”
Congratulations, JT and Stephanie!
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