Mystery Marathon Kiss: Man's Wife Responds With Letter

Boston Marathon runner Barbara Tatge kissed a spectator on a dare from her daughter and a search for the mystery man she kissed went viral. Now the man's wife has come forward in a lighthearted letter.

Barbara Tatge successfully finished her first ever Boston Marathon this year. If that was not exciting enough, she also snagged a surprise kiss from a spectator in Wellesley, Massachusetts, following a dare from her daughter, Paige. After seeing the photo of the kiss, her daughter began a quest to find the man her mother smooched, reaching out to the Townsman last week.

According to Wicked Local Wellesley, the mystery man's wife was also running the marathon for the first time and saw the media attention the story has been receiving. She wrote a letter to Tatge via the Townsman saying the story has been fun, but she and her husband would like to stay anonymous.

"When the story aired on the news we were pretty surprised," said the kisser's wife. "I'm not mad. Believe me, our friends have gotten a lot of mileage out of this story and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching them give my husband grief!"

The Townsman verified the woman's claims by asking for photos of the man's outfit from the original kiss picture.

"I accepted my daughter's good-hearted dare of reversing the Wellesley tradition" said Tatge, in reference to the women of Wellesley College who traditionally smooch passing runners. "And a good natured man accepted my request for a photo. Moving forward i will revert to only kissing single men."

Tatge also apologized to the man for any unwanted media attention it has caused him and his wife. Tatge has been contacted by various talk shows and television stations in her hometown of Memphis.

Although Tatge did not find her prince charming, she said, "I am touched by the outpouring of support of strangers that wanted a fairytale ending."

"While this may not be the ending that you had hoped for, the spontaneous, silly moment in Wellesley captured the fun, energy and spirit of the Boston Marathon," the man's wife said in her letter to Tatge. "I greatly admire your spunk and courage and wish you many happy races in the future. Congratulations on your Boston finish!"

Tatge, who began running after surviving a rare form of cancer, said she is not done with running.

She hopes to qualify for the Boston Marathon in 2017 but won't be accepting any more dares to kiss strangers again.
 

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