Shoeless Harvard runner wins second race despite serious blisters

It’s always a dramatic scene when a runner loses his shoe in a race, and wins anyway. At the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships on Saturday, Harvard’s Kieran Tuntivate not only lost his left spike in the first lap of the 3,000m and won anyway, but his bare left foot sustained some pretty nasty blisters on his way to victory. Yet the following afternoon he came back to win the 5,000m. (And this time, both his spikes stayed on.)

RELATED: Great races run in only one shoe

Tuntivate told the Harvard Crimson he felt “flustered” for a bit after losing his shoe, but was able to settle himself, take the lead in the final lap, and hang on for the win, in 8:12.72.

SHOELESS KIERAN TUNTIVATE.

The @HarvardTrack_XC junior loses his shoe on the first lap, then goes from third to first down the stretch to win the #IvyHeps Indoor 3,000! pic.twitter.com/ylz3nTLibz

— The Ivy League (@IvyLeague) February 23, 2019

After the run, though, Tuntivate was in need of medical attention for some serious blisters on the foot that lost the shoe, as the grisly photos attest. 

RELATED: How a silly little blister can turn into a full-blown injury

Harvard senior Kieran Tuntivate wins the Ivy League 3K championship this weekend, even after his left shoe falls off early in the race. His foot didn’t fare as well. pic.twitter.com/oJP0qzZxA9

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 27, 2019

Astonishingly, Tuntivate competed in the 5,000m the next day, and won that race, too, in 14:25.32.

We had 15 All-Ivy selections from indoor #IvyHeps including 10 individual first team members and a relay! https://t.co/E1dlQzLR6W #GoCrimson pic.twitter.com/tNIQbabBGZ

— Harvard T&F | XC (@HarvardTrack_XC) February 26, 2019

Tuntivate was named the Male Most Outstanding Track Performer after the meet, as well as first-team All-Ivy honours in the 3K and the 5K.