‘That’s Curtis Hargrove!’: Woman Trains 4 Months For Chicago Marathon. Then A Man In Heels Passes Her. He Actually Has A Pretty Good Reason For Wearing Them

Training for a marathon is no joke. Months of early morning runs, careful nutrition, and pushing your body to its limits.

So imagine putting in all that work, grinding through mile 25, and getting passed by someone wearing heels.

One woman documented this exact moment, and it turns out the man in heels had an inspiring reason for his unconventional footwear choice.

Woman Gets Passed By Heel-Wearing Runner At Mile 25

In a viral video with more than 6.2 million views, runner Genevieve Farrell (@genevievejfarrell) shared her experience at the Chicago Marathon where she was passed by an unusual runner in the final stretch of the race.

The footage shows a man wearing a backward white baseball cap, black T-shirt, and shorts. Nothing looks out of the ordinary until you notice the light pink heeled booties he’s running in.

“Trained 4 months for a marathon …only to be passed by a man in heels at mile 25,” the text overlay on the video reads.

In her caption, she noted, “He even had two pairs.”

Commenters quickly identified the runner, and his story is far more meaningful than just a quirky marathon stunt.

Who Is This Man?

People in the comment section identified the runner as Curtis Hargrove, a 35-year-old Canadian runner who last year completed the grueling 26.2-mile Chicago Marathon in 3-inch red heels.

According to TODAY, Hargrove ran the marathon to raise awareness for women and children affected by domestic violence.

“I made a promise that I was going to attempt a Guinness World Record for fastest marathon in high heels by a male to support women and children who suffered from domestic violence,” Hargrove told TODAY.

Before the event, Hargrove partnered with Stepping Stones Crisis Society, an organization advocating for women and children affected by domestic abuse. The organization told TODAY it was “grateful for the awareness it will bring on gender-based violence.”

This wasn’t Hargrove’s first rodeo—he’s run 310 marathons, many for charity.

Hurdles

However, the heel challenge proved particularly difficult. TODAY reports that in previous attempts, Hargrove had broken heels at 4 miles and 13 miles. For the Chicago Marathon, he had friends weld the heels to ensure they wouldn’t break.

Hargrove started strong, completing his first 5 kilometers in 27 minutes and maintaining a pace that would have beaten the existing record by over an hour and a half, according to TODAY. However, by kilometer 25, blisters forced him to stop and get his feet bandaged.

“I reminded myself why I was doing it: raising awareness for these women and children,” Hargrove told TODAY. “The blisters and the pain that I was going through is nothing compared to what these women and children go through every day.”

As Hargrove made his way through the marathon course, people shared their own stories of domestic violence with him. “I’ve had women tell me that seeing my story makes them question their view on men, changing their view just because of this one act that I did for them,” he told TODAY.

Hargrove finished the race in 7 hours and 5 minutes. By the end, his feet were battered and covered in blisters, with peeling skin and bleeding. Marathon organizers brought him to an emergency services tent where his injuries were treated.

Commenters React

“That’s Curtis Hargrove! He runs all of his marathons in those and is raising money for a charity that supports women and children that survived domestic violence. He’s a great guy,” a top comment read.

“That’s an ICON right there,” Fabletics commented.

“Run 25 miles in these Louboutins,” another joked, referencing song lyrics.

“The spare heel in case of emergencies is frying me,” a person said.

UPDATE: Hargrove told BroBible, “The main thing I’d like to say is that I was running for women and children who suffer from domestic violence. As for the video it’s hilarious but everyone needs to remember that everyone is running their own race, we never know what someone else is going through!”

BroBible reached out to Farrell via Instagram and TikTok direct message.