Nosey neighbors can save your life. Or, they can make you self-conscious about your new running routine.
A newbie jogger recently went viral after posting a video of her concerned neighbor, who stopped her on her morning run thinking she must be fleeing from danger.
Anna Grace Boswell shared the funny clip on TikTok, which shows her heading out for a jog and her neighbor, Stanley, immediately running after her to ask if she was safe.
Boswell, who had just signed up for a half-marathon three weeks prior, shared her front door security camera footage with the caption “CACKLING, Protect my neighbor at all costs. He had no idea what I was running from but was READY to help!”
The video has gotten over 11 million views, and over 10,000 comments of viewers both delighted and confused by Stanley’s concern.
“He’s like, ‘should I be running?’ read one popular comment.
“He immediately knew the assignment but was also confused by the assignment,” reads another.
A week after the video was posted, Boswell made a video with Stanley himself, answering a few of the internet’s most pressing questions.
“I was playing basketball and out my peripheral, it was just like instant fight or flight,” said Stanley in the follow-up video. “Something just didn’t seem right, and I didn’t even notice she had full running gear on.”
In an interview with People, Boswell shared that she was shocked when he came up to her, “because in my mind, I looked very cool.”
“He humbled me for sure! But he’s such a genuine guy. I knew he had only pure intentions,” Boswell told the outlet.
As a woman who runs alone, Boswell said she’s relieved to live in an area where she feels like her neighbors are watching her back.
“The world needs more Stanleys!”
Though Stanley has since moved away and no longer lives across the street from her, Boswell says she’ll always think of him as a neighbor.