crimsonheadGCN
Banned
A man from Italy spent two days lost in New York City after finishing the marathon on Sunday before he was eventually found riding the subway confused, dehydrated, and still in his running gear.
Gianclaudio P. Marengo, who speaks only Italian, was separated from his group after he crossed the finish line in Central Park on Sunday, police said.
When members of his fellow running group — all Italians visiting the city from the San Patrignano drug rehabilitation center on the Adriatic coast — failed to locate him after the 26.2-mile race on Sunday afternoon, they called their country’s consulate in the city, which in turn called the police.
In a statement, staff at the rehabilitation center denied Marengo, 30, was suffering from mental health problems or had been on medication when he disappeared.
The runners had been staying in a Queens hotel, but clinic staff said that during the race Marengo had lost a note he had been carrying detailing how to catch the subway back to their accommodation.
After eating a slice of pizza, he spent the night sleeping on the streets, then travelled by train on Monday to John F. Kennedy International Airport to try to meet his fellow runners who were due to fly back to Italy.
“He stayed at the airport and waited,” Antonio Boschini, the group’s medic, told the New York Times. “But they thought he looked homeless so they kicked him out.”
Lost, confused, and unable to communicate with anyone around him, Marengo returned to Manhattan and spent a second night sleeping on the streets, still dressed in his running apparel.
There is more here:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/a...ing-the?bftw&utm_term=.gna1g1lWya#.kep4q4yv9g
That must have been pretty damn scary. I would be freaking out if that happened to me.
EDIT: People Magazine is claiming that he had a mental illness:
A mentally disabled Italian runner who went missing after crossing the finish line of the New York City Marathon on Sunday has been found alive, an NYPD spokesman confirms to PEOPLE.
http://www.people.com/article/new-york-city-marathon-runner-giancarlo-marengo-is-missing
I am not sure who is right.