The Decision.

They were paying him to drop out of the race after 30km, but as he continued running, completely disregarding the contract he had signed, it seemed he'd had a change of heart. See as a pace runner, Ruben Quipiego was hired to lead the fastest runners in the Abu Dhabi Marathon at a steady, record chasing pace, breaking the wind resistance for them and helping the star runners behind him to set faster times. He of course wasn't expected to be able to keep that pace for the entire race, just until the 30km mark where he could then

step aside and let the real runners compete for the podium. However, as Ruben reached the agreed distance, he looked around and realised that the star runners who were supposed to be taking it from here were nowhere to be seen. Some had dropped out due to injury and others were just lagging behind unable to keep up with the pace Ruben was setting. So that's when Ruben had a choice. He could drop out of the race as agreed, lock in his pacer fee which typically ranges anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 US dollars, along with

any other bonuses that come with the fact he matched the required pace exactly, or he could keep running, give up on his pacer fee and instead attempt to win the $100,000 prize awaiting the gold medalist at the finish line. Even though he was leading the race, it was still a gamble. He had to maintain the same pace for another 12km and if he ran out of gas or got an injury later in the race, he'd lose out on everything. But Ruben was feeling confident at the time, and so he kept going. But as Ruben pushed through the final 12km of the race,

many spectators were confused, seeing a man wearing a Pacer bib still in the lead. People questioned whether Ruben crossing the finish line first would even be considered a legal win. And they were about to find out. Because Rubin didn't stop. He did indeed cross the finish line first. He set a personal best time of 2 hours, 4 minutes did indeed cross the finish line first. He set a personal best time of 2 hours, 4 minutes and 40 seconds and in doing so, he officially took home the $100,000 prize pool.