A fan-favorite reality TV star balked when his half marathon was interrupted by a flash flood from Mother Nature.
Videos by Wide Open Country
"Bro... THIS is nuts..." stunned former The Bachelorette contestant Zac Clark said in footage he posted to Instagram on Sept. 13. The wild video, caught at a half marathon on Sunday in Paramus, New Jersey, shows the reality star alongside several beleaguered runners pushing through water up to their crotches.
"Checking in from the Paramus Racefaster Half Marathon this morning. 1:40:42 on the chip.... Many rivers were crossed," Clark wrote alongside the footage.
" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px);width:calc(100% - 2px)">Clark "won" season 16 of The Bachelorette by sweeping Taysha Adams off her feet. However, the couple broke up after the reality show wrapped. Ever the romantic, Clark has found love in the arms of yet another reality TV star, Kaitlyn Bristowe (of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and Dancing with the Stars fame), per New York's ABC 7.
Many questioned why the organizers of the Racefaster Half Marathon in Paramus, Bergen County, didn't cancel the event altogether following forecasts and reports of flash flooding. The event was postponed by two hours, but conditions obviously hadn't settled by the time runners hit the road.
"This was supposed to be a half-marathon, and it ended up being a biathlon," fellow runner Garrett Nathan quipped to ABC 7.
Onlookers React to Footage of Reality Star Zac Clark Caught in Flash Flood in Half Marathon: 'This is Not Okay'
Many comments under Clark's Instagram post also questioned why the race went on given the flooding.
"Excuse me, who thought this was safe to race under these conditions?" one top comment read. "This is so dangerous. I hope no one was hurt," another onlooker wrote. "Whoever the RD is for this race should never be one again. This is not okay. Cool for the gram but not for the safety of the runners," a third Instagram denizen added.
Another half marathon runner chimed in with, "Just finished this, and jokes and perseverance aside, the organizers 100% needed to call this race. So unsafe, and I hope no one got hurt."
Meanwhile, the former reality TV star is a seasoned marathon runner. Clark wasn't going to let a flash flood slow him down too much.
In the caption to his Instagram post, the 42-year-old pointed out that he still managed to finish third in his age group...
