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What friends do for woman unable to run Shamrock Marathon will make your day

Posted at 1:48 PM, May 29, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-29 13:51:58-04

RICHMOND, Va. – Friends helped a Richmond runner get the chance to earn her Shamrock Marathon medal Saturday more than two months after the race.

Rainey Niklawski was all set to participate in the Virginia Beach race in March when she contracted the norovirus.

As a result, family and friends set up a makeup race for her after she insisted on running the marathon to earn the Shamrock Marathon medal she received.

"This event started out as a simple attempt to give a friend a well-deserved second chance," Liz, one of the women who organized the event,posted on the Recovering Running Lawyer blog. "It quickly grew into something so much bigger. There were many times during the planning process when I wondered how the hell this was all going to work. But in the end, it was truly one of the best things I have ever been a part of. Running has changed my life in so many ways, the most significant of which is the wonderful people I have met. I am proud to be a Richmond runner."

Video posted on social media captured the powerful moment Niklawski crossed the finish line of what the running community dubbed “The Rainey Check Marathon."

Niklawski finished the 26.2-mile course around the River City in 5 hours and 25 minutes.

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