The finish line was just ahead — but for Ajay Haridasse, getting there would take more than determination alone.

After nearly 26 miles on his feet at the Boston Marathon, Haridasse collapsed near the final stretch, his body giving out just moments before he could complete the race.

But even then, he says, stopping was never an option.

“I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that I was going to get to the finish line,” Haridasse tells PEOPLE exclusively. “That may sound overconfident, or even arrogant, given how messed up I was, but I would have never forgiven myself if I didn’t cross.”

As he struggled to get back on his feet along Boylston Street, Haridasse says he was already preparing for what finishing might look like.

L-R: Robson De Oliveira, Ajay Haridasse, and Aaron Beggs.Adrian Umpierrez via Storyful

“I watched one of my idols, Cooper Teare, crawl to the finish in a national championship a couple years ago and I was mentally preparing to have to do the same,” he says.

Instead, what happened next turned the moment into something far bigger than a race. Two runners — Aaron Beggs and Robson De Oliveira — stopped mid-race, sacrificing their own times to help carry him the final stretch

“When I saw Aaron reach his arms out, it meant the world to me,” Haridasse recalls.

Beggs was the first to stop, pulling him up off the ground. Moments later, De Oliveira — who had been on pace for a personal best — also paused his race. Together, the two men put their arms around Haridasse and helped carry him through the final stretch.

“I still can’t believe him or Robson even stopped to help me up and got me through the last 300 meters,” Haridasse says. “To stop and help someone struggling on Boylston in the Boston Marathon when they were approaching the same level of exhaustion that I was feeling says so much about them as people.”

L-R: Robson De Oliveira, Ajay Haridasse, and Aaron Beggs.Adrian Umpierrez via Storyful

The moment, captured by spectators and widely shared online, showed dozens of runners passing by before Beggs stopped — followed by De Oliveira — as the crowd cheered them on toward the finish.

For Haridasse, the physical toll of the race faded in comparison to what the gesture meant.

“I truly cannot describe how grateful I am for both of them,” he says. “Everyone, including myself, needs to be more like them.”

Speaking to the BBC, Beggs downplayed his actions, calling the decision to stop instinctive.

“When you are running a marathon, it’s a journey together — help each other along, support each other,” he said, adding, “It’s nice to be nice.”

He also noted that moments like this are more common than people might think, saying, “The likes of what I did… this isn’t a one off.”

For Haridasse, though, the impact was deeply personal — and lasting.

“That was a moment I am never going to forget for the rest of my life,” he tells PEOPLE. “And I’m grateful I got to share it with both Robson and Aaron.”

In the days since, he says the experience has turned into something even more meaningful: connection.

“I have made many friends over the years from running, at my high school in Wakefield to the Northeastern Club Running team,” he says. “And it makes me so happy. This moment gave me two more lifelong friendships.”