A viral video is making one neighbor the center of attention. Stanley startled Anna Grace Boswell as she was running. The new runner was heading out for her early jog, gearing up for a half marathon later this year, when Stanley, her neighbor, started to run toward her, making sure Boswell was okay and not fleeing a dangerous situation.
Boswell posted the video of the incident on TikTok, and it became viral, receiving over 11 million views. This led to the two becoming acquaintances.
@artsyfartsyag CACKLING ☠️ Protect my neighbor at all costs. He had no idea what I was running from but he was READY to help! #runtok #runningera #halfmarathontraining #runwithme #runningtok
♬ Titanic flute fail – kate dwyer
Boswell told People, “Stanley is just an awesome human being. He used to rent across the street and has since moved out, but he’s still around all the time, as you can clearly see in the recording. So even though he no longer lives across the street, I’ll always think of him as my neighbor.”
She, however, explained, “As many guessed in the comment section, I’m still relatively new to the running game. Three weeks ago I decided to run a half marathon at the end of the year and I’ve been following a training plan, five days a week, since.”
“I guess you can say I’m in the honeymoon phase. It’s still early in the relationship but I really, really love it. I’m a mom to two toddlers, so running has been an incredible way to reset after a long day.”
She went on to say that she was taken aback when Stanley, who she calls “such a genuine guy,” reached out to her while she was out for a run since she thought she “looked very cool” in her running attire. Looking back, she now views the encounter as humbling.
Netizens have since lauded Stanley’s actions and praised his selflessness.
One said, “You can hear the concern in his voice. what a sweet guy!” while another added, “Odds are good both parties were embarrassed but this warms my heart.”
Boswell took a few days to tell Stanley about their popular video, but when she did, he was “a great sport” and they went on to film two more TikToks together.
She stated, “Stanley is a DJ and had a pretty busy weekend after I posted the video, so I was very nervous someone was going to tell him he went viral before I had a chance to show him the video myself. But when I finally was able to show him the video, he got a really big kick out of it.”
She declared, “The world needs more Stanleys!”
