Nara deer stampede into marathon, hit runner in their path

Dec 17, 2021 | News On Japan

Dec 17, 2021 (soranews24.com) - The Nara Marathon, held in Nara on the second Sunday in December every year, is a 42.195-kilometre (26.2-mile) long course that’s known to be a challenging one for runners.

This year, participants found themselves facing an even greater challenge during the course, when a horde of deer suddenly decided to stampede through the runners as they made their way past Nara Park.

Nara Park is home to over 1,200 deer which are believed to be the messengers of the gods, affording them protected status as a natural treasure and allowing them free rein to roam throughout the area as they like.The gods must’ve had some urgent news for someone somewhere on the weekend, because during this year’s race on 12 December, the animals suddenly made a beeline across the road, right as runners were running past.

Video of the incident shows the deer initially running along the pavement, until one of them ducks under the tape that had been set up by the side of the road. Once that deer breaks through the barrier, all the others follow, some jumping over the tape like gazelles and others running right through it, with one even barrelling straight into a runner.

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