Man detests running but ran a half-marathon anyway — just to surprise his marathon-loving wife

Every person might have a different love language. Ben's wife didn't care too much about gifts, but she "loved" romantic gestures. So, he decided to surprise her by joining her in a half-marathon, even though he isn't the biggest fan of running long distances. Nonetheless, he pushed himself for his wife and ended up learning an important lesson. Although there was one hiccup along the way, he managed to fulfill a challenging goal, per a video shared by him, Ben Carpenter, who goes by @bdccarpenter on Instagram.

Ben began by telling people that he had "messed up pretty bad" as his wife had seen the one thing on his phone she wasn't supposed to. For context, he explained, "Earlier last year, I started jogging for the first time in my whole life." He added, "My goal was simple. She always said she would love for us to run together. So I wanted to surprise her by joining in on her next 5k race." That surprise went "perfectly," and the man wanted to take that one step further. His wife, Sohee Carpenter, had registered herself for a half-marathon taking place two months after they ran the 5k. Ben was not sure if he would be able to join her in the half-marathon, "But I wanted to give it my best crack."

 He wanted to keep it a surprise for his wife, but a couple of weeks before the marathon, she was looking through his running app and found out that he had been secretly "ramping up the miles." Ben had a feeling that his wife knew what he was up to, and all he could do was wait as long as he could to tell her. "Even after she picked up her bib the morning before the race." He recorded himself and his wife at that time, as Sohee said, "Obviously, I might not be able to finish. But I want to hit my goal time and that is what is making me nervous." He asked her, "Will you come back in with me to get my bib?" The woman laughed out of shock and got ready to go in with her husband.

"I swear on my life, without the goal of trying to surprise her, I would have never taken up running in the first place," Ben admitted. "But I am actually really proud of myself. Not for the half-marathon as such. But because I got stuck on something that I genuinely detested and finished something I honestly thought I could never do." He went on, "It just goes to show that you can do hard things if you have a big enough reason why to motivate you." People shared their thoughts on the husband's sweet gesture and the lesson he learned in the comments section of the video.

@coach_aubrielle wrote, "Good husband points! I follow you because you post good, evidence-based content AND because of how you treat your wife." @wissnahed commented, "Amazing time too, Ben! Love the message and the consistency and the perseverance. You’re one of the creators who is genuinely honest and motivational just by sharing your actions. All the love." @lyndsay_netherwood82 remarked, "Honestly, my heart sank so much at the 'She saw the one thing I didn't want her to.' But no, you've shown once again what a thoughtful and wonderful human and husband you are."

You can follow Ben Carpenter (@bdccarpenter) on Instagram for more lifestyle content.