A Japanese man dressed as Jesus Christ ran barefoot in the New York City Marathon on Sunday, bearing a large cross on his back as he ran for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Dozens of spectators uploaded photos of the jogging Messiah, dubbed “Marathon Jesus,” to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, Yahoo News reported.
“BAREFOOT JESUS carrying a cross for Boston,” one Twitter user wrote.
“I just saw Jesus running the NYC marathon … for your sins,” another commenter said.
The Jesus impersonator turned out to be Makoto Takeuchi from Chiba, Japan, who wore the number 55-970, according to the New York City Marathon website, Yahoo reported.
ESPN reporter Michele Steele tweeted that a statement scrawled on the back on the man’s cross indicated he was running for Boston Marathon victims.
According to The Blaze, Makoto completed only 10 miles of the race.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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