He's not heavy, he's my runner
London marathon runner who collapsed metres from the end and man who helped him over the finish line open up about their ‘Brownlee brothers’ moment
THE heroic London Marathon runner who stopped to help a struggling stranger over the finish line says he had "no other option" but to step in.
Matthew Rees, 29, was filmed carrying exhausted David Wyeth the last 200 metres of the gruelling 26.2-mile slog after David's legs gave way beneath him.
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Reunited with Matthew on Good Morning Britain today, Chorlton Runners' David - who was running in memory of his beloved uncle Alan - said: "I was on track at least to mile 20 and thought I was coming through a dark patch, but it just got darker and darker.
"I turned into The Mall and my legs just went beneath me.
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"I'd been struggling before that, and I knew I hadn't been going in a straight line and really I should have stopped, but you train also to override those sensations.
"I knew I was in trouble then when I went to the ground.
"The next thing I heard, two metres out was Matthew's voice in my ear encouraging me up, 'let's do this, I'll get you over the line'."
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Selfless Matthew, of Swansea Harriers, said: "I came round the final corner ready to sprint that final 200m, but as soon as I saw David and his legs go beneath him there was no other option.
"I had to help him, he'd come 26 miles and the finish was just there.
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"When I went over and spoke to him you could see how determined he was.
"He said 'I need to finish', I said 'we will finish, we'll finish together'."
But despite sacrificing a quicker time to help his fallen competitor, Matthew insisted the moment was one of many.
He said: "This moment was caught on camera but this was happening throughout the race, everyone's helping each other out. I think this is just the one that hit the spotlight."
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David, from Manchester, was seen falling backwards before Matthew stopped to help on the final stretch of the race, in the shadow of Buckingham Palace.
A steward joins in and the trio struggle over the line together as Matthew, is seen shouting at David to stay on his feet.
Matthew, who works at a bank, said yesterday: "I saw him try to stand up again and his legs just went down again, and I thought 'this is more important, getting him across the line is more important than shaving a few seconds off my time'."
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He added: "I went over to try and help him and every time he tried to get up he just fell down again and again, so I just tried to cheer him on, picked him up and said: 'Come on, we can do this'.
"He was really grateful, but he wasn't very coherent, he was just like 'I have to finish, I have to finish' and I said 'you will finish, you will get there, come on let's do this', but every time he tried to move he would just fall again so it was important to guide him."
Despite David's exhaustion both men finished the race in less than three hours.
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In September last year triathlete Alistair Brownlee helped his struggling brother Jonny over the line after he almost collapsed during a race in Mexico.
Jonny was leading the World Triathlon Series with just 700m to go when he started to succumb to the blistering heat.
Two-time Olympic champion Alistair stopped to help his brother rather than passing him.
David Wyeth and Matthew Rees were two of more than 40,000 runners taking part in the London Marathon yesterday.
The 26-mile route's start points were at Greenwich Park or Blackheath, with runners having to pound the pavement all the way to the finish line outside Buckingham Palace.
Kate Middleton was pictured with Wills and Harry in high spirits at the sidelines as they took selfies and "high-fived" the runners.
Stars including Chris Evans and Eastenders actor Adam Woodyatt also took part in the marathon.
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