Courtney Rich wanted to run her second marathon to set a good example for her kids to never give up on their goals.
"I wanted them to see mom finish strong. Those are things I tell my kids as often as I can when things are hard or they're playing in their own sports. 'Just do your best and that best is going to be a little different every day,'" Rich said.
But close to the end of the Revel Big Cottonwood Marathon, held in Salt Lake City on Sept. 9, the 40-year-old mother said she began to feel herself struggling and said she realized she wouldn't make the record time she had her heart set on.
"My legs were just done. I could just feel them slowing down," Rich recalled. "By mile 24 … I looked at my watch and that's when I called my husband and was in tears, just having a little pity party for myself for a minute."
That's when Rich's daughter Avery showed up to give her mom a much-needed boost, taking her mom's hand and running the final portion of the marathon with her, until they reached the finish line.
"Next thing I knew, my daughter ran out," Rich recounted. "I kind of saw her out of the corner of my left eye and I realized it was Avery. I just put a huge smile on my face. I stuck out my hand, she grabbed it and all of a sudden, my legs that were hurting and the heaviness of my body just felt lighter and we just ran to the finish line hand in hand."
The unexpected and heartwarming moment was captured on camera by Rich's sister-in-law Karla Carlston and Rich's friend Emilee Roberts. Rich later shared the clip as a video reel on Instagram, where it quickly garnered over 1.2 million views.
"It was pretty special," Rich said, adding that looking back on the video still brings tears to her eyes.
After the race, Rich said she knew her daughter would help her because that's just who she is, a supportive and loving human being.
"That is absolutely Avery's character. She sees people. She has compassion. She notices people and is aware of just feelings and needs," Rich said.
"I was so happy and it just made my heart so full," she added.
Rich, the mother of two, said she hopes her daughter can see from their shared experience that a small act of kindness can make a significant impact.
"I said Avery, 'This is an incredible example of how one little thing that impacted one person in your life had a ripple effect and how it's inspiring so many other people. So don't ever brush aside the prompting or the inspiration to do a small act of kindness for someone because you just never know what impact that will have on people,'" Rich said.
Source: Good Morning America