'Jesus' Runs New York Marathon With Cross-Strapped to Back
A barefoot man dressed as Jesus with a cross strapped across his back ran in Sunday's New York City marathon.
The man tied his bib number, 55-970, to the back of his cross, and he was identified on the New York City Marathon website as Makoto Takeuchi from Chiba, Japan. Takeuchi is allegedly a New York City-based photographer, according to HyperVocal News.
This is not the first time that "Jesus" has shown up in a race. He also been spotted at the Los Angeles and Tokyo Marathons, with footage of the latter below.
More than 50,000 runners participated in the first race since 2011, as damage and destruction across the city caused by Superstorm Sandy led officials to cancel last year's marathon.
Security fears stemming from the bombing attacks at the Boston Marathon in April led to a large police presence on Sunday in New York, and authorities reportedly put in place over 200 surveillance cameras and 47 bomb-sniffing dogs to ensure participants and spectators remained safe.
Two Kenyan runners Priscah Jeptoo and Geoffrey Mutai won the women's and men's races respectively.
