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Woman seeking stranger she kissed at Boston Marathon hears back from his wife

Posted at 2:37 PM, May 05, 2015
and last updated 2015-05-05 14:37:14-04

As Barbara Tatge was running through the town of Wellesley during the Boston Marathon, she remembered a dare from her daughter.

Her daughter dared her to kiss a random, good-looking man as she ran through the town, where the women of Wellesley College offer kisses to runners.

Tatge got up the nerve and smooched a man in a tan hat and plaid shirt along the route.

After the race, Tatge says the man left an impression on her and her daughter set out to find him on social media. She received a response, but not from her mystery man.

Instead, Tatge received a letter from his wife.

“When this story aired on the news, we were pretty surprised,”the man’s wife wrote in a portion of the letter, which was given to the Wellesley Townsman. “For me, I’m not mad. Believe me, our friends have gotten a lot of mileage out of this story and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching them give my husband grief!”

“While this may not be the ending that you had hoped for, that spontaneous, silly moment in Wellesley captured the fun, energy and spirit of the Boston Marathon. I greatly admire your spunk and courage and wish you many happy races in the future. Congratulations on your Boston finish!”

Tatge says she wrote back to the woman, thanking her for her graciousness and good humor.

“The letter was so kind and good-hearted,” she said. “She’s a great sport, and he’s fortunate to be married to someone like her.”