Missed Connection At Mile 8 Has NYC Marathon Fan On Craigslist

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — The New York City Marathon is no stranger to inspiring stories — even love stories — but what about one that happens days after the race?

A marathon fan who watched from the sidelines in Fort Greene is hoping to start their own NYC marathon story by searching Craigslist for a mystery runner they crossed paths with in Brooklyn, a post shows.

The runner, who the fan knows only as Javier, took a photo with the Craiglist poster and their friends after his family asked the group to help cheer him on as he crossed mile eight, which ends right near the Barclays Center and Lafayette Avenue.

"My friends were chanting names of runners when your mom asked if we could help greet you as well," the fan writes. "I was hiding my tears behind my Ray Bans.

"It would mean the world if we could have that photo we took together...and who knows what more?," they continue.

The Craigslist fan didn't answer Patch's request for more details about their story, but their short post has already drawn the attention of some hopefuls (and reporters) on Twitter, who are passing the post around in the hopes that they can help the fan find their "missed connection." The City even enlisted the help of readers by including the post in their newsletter.

And as Wall Street Journal reporter Katie Honan pointed out, finding the mystery runner might not be too difficult, given that less than 100 of the marathon's 53,000 or so runners have the name Javier.

To be exact, there are about 65 runners with the first name Javier, 24 with Javier as a middle name and four with Javier as a last name, including three women, according to the New York Road Runners website.

Do you think you know who Javier is? Patch would love to know more. Please email PatchNYC@patch.com.