Crowds Pack Esplanade To Run With Michael Phelps
BOSTON (CBS) -- A large crowd turned out at the Charles River Esplanade Tuesday morning to run two miles with Olympian Michael Phelps.
A huge crowd surrounded @MichaelPhelps as he arrived at the #Esplanade for a run with #forbesunder30 #wbz pic.twitter.com/kAHut9KgRf
— Ben Parker (@radiobenparker) October 18, 2016
The event was organized by the Pan Mass Challenge and hosted as part of the Forbes Under 30 Summit being held in Boston this week.
When he arrived, Phelps was surrounded by fans taking selfies.
"Let's have some fun out there, and make sure nobody gets hurt," Phelps said into a megaphone before the run.
Michael Phelps fun run. Organized by the Pan Mass Challenge @PanMass pic.twitter.com/tqUd79btZ8
— Brad Tatum (@BradTatum) October 18, 2016
Phelps told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker he was a bit overwhelmed by the crowds, especially so early in the morning.
"Especially with some of them saying they were at a bar crawl last night until late, and then they got up and came out here," Phelps said. "I was a little surprised by that."
He said it was the largest number of people he had ever run with, by far.
"It was kind of crazy," Phelps said. "I never ran in a race before with that many people, so it was kind of hard to not run over people and get tripped ... It was awesome to have all the support out here. Selfies were going crazy."
.@MichaelPhelps returns to #HatchShell after a run along the #CharlesRiver. #forbesunder30 #wbz pic.twitter.com/wQHyAv9LSG
— Ben Parker (@radiobenparker) October 18, 2016
The run was also led by Forbes editor Randall Lane and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's Chief of Staff, Daniel Koh.
Mayor Walsh, along with the Boston University Pep Band, greeted the runners.
Phelps holds the all-time record for Olympic Gold Medals, with 23.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker reports