Woman Can’t Believe What She Spots on Her Morning Run: ‘Magical Moment’

A woman has filmed the moment she managed to experience marine wildlife up close during her morning run.

Holly Brooks, 26, shared the incredible encounter on TikTok (@hollyb_fitness), and the clip has received over 893,000 views since it was posted on April 2. The content creator can be seen running alongside Marina del Rey, in Los Angeles, California, before she stops in complete disbelief at the sight of the whale.

Brooks told Newsweek: “This was my first time spotting one. It was just so magical.”

The Marina del Rey tourism board says that grey whales and humpbacks pass through on their annual migration between the Arctic and their birthing waters off Baja, Mexico.

The footage shows the whale coming up for air, since the mammals cannot respire under water as fish do. They breathe through a blowhole, located right on top of their heads, and expose just the top of their heads, as seen in the video, while they are resting under the water.

Brooks told one user: “I was honestly in awe.” Originally from England, she described the experience as an “amazing mood booster for the run.”

Around 48 million people in the United States went running or jogging at least once in 2023, according to Statista. Perhaps this form of exercise would be more frequent if everyone lived closer to the sea and there was a chance to spot a whale. However, that isn’t possible for everyone, so runners may need to think of other ways to elevate their mood and motivate themselves.

Sport psychologist Noel Brick previously told Newsweek his tips and tricks to train your brain into finding running more enjoyable.

“Music can be extremely helpful as a distraction during exercise and provide benefits for our running experience,” Brick said. “Music can help to increase enjoyment, reduce boredom and increase our work output during exercise, meaning that we work out for longer, or with higher energy, when listening to music than without. Music can help to lower perception of effort, meaning that running feels easier and less strenuous.

“Key qualities when selecting music are the rhythm—tunes with a bpm [beats per minute] of between 125 and 140 are best—and personal preferences in terms of genre,” Brick added.

Other suggestions include running in nature settings and focusing on scenic views, or running with a partner and chatting along the way.

Brick told Newsweek: “Distractions such as these also help to make running feel easier, more pleasant, and more enjoyable. Running in nature settings is also associated with improvements in mood and mental-health outcomes beyond those improvements gained by running alone.”

So far, the video has amassed more than 108,000 likes and almost 90 comments.

One user wrote: “All I saw was traffic on my morning run.”

“Oh wow. Amazing. I have come across wild deer a few times but that’s something else,” commented another.

A third commenter added: “Everything about this gives me chills.”

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