Runner pulls out engagement ring at end of marathon

Shopping for engagement rings is challenging enough, but what about running 26.2 miles with one tucked into your jogging shorts?

That is exactly the challenge that Salvador Lopez-Barr of San Francisco recently faced, as he prepared to pop the question to his girlfriend and running coach, NBC Chicago reports.

Lopez-Barr decided to propose to Hollis Bathen during the Chicago Marathon, which the couple would be running together, aiming for eight-minute miles to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

He decided he would pretend to trip near the finish line, and then ask Bathen to marry him after he had her attention.

However, Lopez-Barr told NBC Chicago that after three hours of running, he tried to get the engagement ring out of the interior pocket of his runner's shorts and - instead of merely tripping - he wound up sprawled on the ground.

When Bathen turned around, she was shocked to see her boyfriend laying on the ground with a small box in his hand. After some brief confusion, she managed to say yes and make her qualifying time in the marathon.

"It was about as romantic as you can be at mile 26," Lopez-Barr explained.