Photo: Cross-country runner falls, spiked, finishes NCAA championship race bloodied

An N.C. State runner was stepped on and spiked in his mouth but finished the NCAA cross-country championships.

N.C. State cross country runner Elijah Moskowitz finished 243rd at the 2016 NCAA Cross-Country National Championships on Saturday but a photo of him bloodied and charging in the final stages of his ten-kilometer race is making rounds as a true demonstration of grit in running.

Moskowitz was in the lead pack of runners before falling after about three kilometers into the race.

​“I basically face-planted on the ground, then the whole pack was trying to jump over me,” Moskowitz told Runner's World. “Someone’s foot just caught my face and kicked me pretty hard in the face. Then I just curled up in a ball and waited for everybody to jump over me.”

The following photo was captured by Chris Lotsbom of Race Results Weekly:

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“I thought that if I passed out somebody would take care of me, so I might as well just do as much as I can,” he added. “I kept having to spit [blood] out and I vaguely remember running by people who were saying, ‘Oh my god!’ I thought, ‘Is it that bad?’”

Moskowitz was assisted by medical attendants after the race for a possible broken nose and concussion. He expects to take some time off of running before competing in the indoor season.