A San Diego, California software engineer kept bragging to his wife that he could run a marathon without training.

The wife, Maisie Todd, got fed up with Logan Goodspeed, who not only had no experience but also never even ran or worked out regularly prior to June. Nevertheless, Todd signed her husband up in April for the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon on 1 June. Secretly.

Todd documented the stunt days before the marathon through TikTok posts, taking a video of Goodspeed’s response when she notified him about the race 24 hours before its start. The teaser garnered nine million views, USA Today reported.

“Okay, can’t wait,” the groggy 32-year-old Goodspeed told Todd, according to USA Today. On such short notice, Goodspeed could only prepare race snacks and buy a pair of secondhand running shoes.

Concern and curiosity on what would happen to Goodspeed doing a dangerous sport swamped Todd’s TikTok page with requests for updates. She discreetly followed and filmed Goodspeed’s run and uploaded the videos.

Goodspeed completed the 26.2-mile marathon unharmed, half running and half walking, in five hours and 58 minutes, finishing 5,081 out of 5,935 participants.

By 5 June, TikTok views of Goodspeed’s instant marathon racked up 40 million views.

Meanwhile, the video of a University at Buffalo graduate doing the ceremonial stage walk during a spring commencement exercise on 18 May went viral with eight million views.

It was an extraordinary event for Jean Paul Al Arab who brought his son to the occasion to celebrate his earning a bachelor’s degree in criminology in 2024.

School officials had imposed strict rules for the event to ensure orderliness and the safety of attendees. Police were present to help security guards enforce order.

Al Arab, however, was defiant and determined to fulfil his promise to his son that they would both walk on stage. When his name was called, he ran up the stage carrying his infant son who was in a toga outfit like him, according to the New York Post (NYP).

Security guards and a police officer failed to stop Al Arab from stepping onto the stage and the father, with the baby in his arms, shook hands with school administrators in front of a raucous crowd, NYP says. The officer then escorted him offstage.

Al Arab had requested the university to allow him and his son to walk on the stage but his request was turned down. He received a flood of support across social media for sharing the emotional moment with his baby despite officials trying to stop him, according to NYP.