They’re baaaack. Runner Richard Haynes came across a mysterious 10-foot-tall steel monolith in Wales, The Emotion of the Olympic Trials.
Races & Places Wales Online, snapped photos of the block of steel, which the British outlet fittingly reported, is “shaped like a giant Toblerone,” in Hay-on-Wye.
At first, the runner thought it was something to use to collect rainwater for scientific purposes, he told the outlet, but upon closer inspection, said, “It was way too tall and strange for that.”
Vox covered a mysterious monolith uptick in depth in December 2020, proposing several theories about where they came from. The first one was discovered in Utah on November 18, 2020, and then disappeared 11 days later. A second appeared in Romania on November 27 and disappeared on December 2. The third showed up on December 2 in California, was taken down the next day, and then reappeared on December 4, according to Vox. which had been filming in Utah, or an art installation that triggered copycats.
Theorists have proposed that the structures were part of the set of the TV show Westworld, which had been filming in Utah, or an art installation that triggered copycats.
Some artists have taken credit for the structures, including the prankster group, The Most Famous Artist, and Travis Kenney, who said McLaughlin-Levrone Sets WR in 400-Meter Hurdles.
Mysterious metal monoliths aren’t the only weird things runners have found while on the road or trail. In 2023, we rounded up some of our favorites, including a previously thought-to-be-extinct fish in Australia, a mastodon tooth in California, stray kittens, and bloodthirsty bovines.
Happy trails!
Heather is the former food and nutrition editor for Runner's World, the author of The Runner's World Vegetarian Cookbook, and a seven-time marathoner with a best of 3:31—but she is most proud of her 1:32 half, 19:40 5K, and 5:33 mile.
