There’s a fine line between spontaneity and self-inflicted suffering, and two college students in Columbus, Ohio, managed to obliterate it. In a now-viral Reddit post titled “Accidentally walked a marathon at 1:30 AM after the bar need recovery advice,” one user recounted what may be the most chaotic fitness achievement of the year: a 26.2-mile walk done entirely by accident, fueled by alcohol, pride, and sheer stubbornness.
According to the post, the duo left the bar at 1:30 a.m. and decided to “see who could walk the furthest without giving up.” Ten miles later, they realized they were far from home and, rather than stop, committed to the full marathon. They trudged through freezing rain, wearing jeans and Converse, and somehow made it back at 10:20 a.m. after more than eight hours of walking. “We thought it would be easy at first but it humbled us quick,” the original poster wrote. “The last few miles were brutal… I honestly might be the hardest mental thing I’ve ever done.”
The story went viral across Reddit, drawing over 61,000 upvotes and a wave of comments, from medical concern to disbelief. “You’ve got to love a story where every single decision made was a bad one,” one user laughed, summing up the consensus. Another put it more simply: “This is one of the top 10 most insane posts I’ve ever seen on Reddit.”
But between the laughs, there was real alarm. Several commenters issued urgent warnings about rhabdomyolysis, which is a dangerous condition caused by extreme muscle breakdown. “I’ve never heard a better set up for rhabdomyolysis in my life,” one wrote. Others shared their own terrifying experiences with it, including ICU stays and permanent injury. The post morphed from comedy to public health PSA in record time.
Meanwhile, over on r/Columbus, locals proudly claimed the pair as hometown heroes. A thread titled “Absolute legendary” quickly filled with Ohioans swapping stories about the city’s party-to-peril traditions. “Walking the Olentangy Trail isn’t easy sober,” one commenter noted, while another proposed turning the ordeal into an annual event: a 1:30 a.m. “beer marathon” complete with a three-beer starting requirement.
It’s not hard to see why the post struck a chord. The story hits that rare internet sweet spot of absurdity and relatability. It was a mix of poor planning, youthful bravado, and the kind of reckless perseverance that feels like a rite of passage.
As for the walkers themselves, they seem to have survived with nothing worse than catastrophic soreness and a lesson learned the hard way. In a later comment, the original poster confirmed the story was real, adding a photo of his rain-soaked trek as proof. Reddit, in turn, crowned them legends.
If there’s a moral here, it’s probably somewhere between “hydrate responsibly” and “don’t test your endurance while intoxicated.” Whatever your takeaway, few stories better capture the chaotic optimism of the internet than two students deciding to finish what they accidentally started… mid hangover.
And yes, they really did it without a sip of water.
