Imagine the feeling of coming to the end of a 42km run, seeing the finish line in sight and all your competitors in your wake, and awaiting the glory of winning an international-class marathon.
And then imagine what it feels like to realise you haven't actually crossed the finish line at all - and have instead taken the wrong turn with less than 50 metres to go.
That was the reality for not one, but two front-runners at the Wuxi Marathon in China on Sunday (local time) - and the pair ended up relinquishing their title to a very grateful competitor who had looked sure to finish in third place.
In video of the incident posted by Chinese network CGTN, two Ethiopian runners, Chala Lelisa Debele and Gardisa Birhanu Shumie, are seen running straight instead of taking a left near the end of the race.
One of the race stewards managed to flag them down and notify them that they had gone the wrong way - but not before Bahraini marathon runner Khalid Kamal Khalid Yaseen took his opportunity to overtake the duo and cross the finishing line in first place.
Organisers have since passed on the blame to the runners, saying they failed to read the signs - and Yaseen's opportunism gifted him the win and 40,000 yuan (NZ$8220) prize.
Newshub.
