Man proposes at Cleveland Marathon finish line

May 23 (UPI) -- An Ohio man proposed to his girlfriend at the finish line of the marathon where their relationship began years earlier.

The Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon shared video of the end of the race as Dan Horvath dropped to one knee in the rain to propose to Stephanie Lesco as she completed the women's marathon.

"Bling...and a ring!" The marathon wrote.

Horvath told The Plain Dealer he planned the proposal a year ago after he and Lesco made a yearly tradition of attending the marathon.

"We fell in love training for the Cleveland Marathon," he said.

The couple met at the marathon three years earlier, when Horvath said there was an instant attraction between them during the race.

"During the race, I kept thinking to myself how I had to find a way to get her number," he said. "I was able to do that after the race."

Lesco, who finished with a time of 4:03.14 in her fifth time competing at the Cleveland Marathon, said she was blindsided by the proposal.

"I had no idea this was coming," she said. "This tops anything I could've set in the marathon. This is my best marathon ever."