Man's proposal to girlfriend as she ran New York City marathon has people angry

He proposed at mile 16

A man proposed to his girlfriend as she ran the New York City marathon - a gesture that people on social media are calling selfish.

Kaitlyn Curran was running her first-ever marathon on Sunday when she spotted her boyfriend Dennis Galvin near the 16-mile mark.

When Curran ran over to say hello, Galvin decided to halt his girlfriend’s race - by getting down on one knee to propose.

In the video shared by CBS, which has since gone viral, Curran accepts, hugs her new fiance, places the engagement ring on her finger, and then proceeds to rejoin her fellow marathoners and continue running.

While the proposal likely made an unforgettable day even more memorable, many have criticised Galvin for taking the spotlight away from his girlfriend’s accomplishment.

“Mile 16? Way to steal her thunder,” one person tweeted.

Another said: “His male ego was too small to let her get all of the attention for even a few hours.”

Others questioned why Galvin couldn’t wait till his girlfriend had crossed the finish line - choosing instead to pause her mid-race and impact her final time.

“He messed up her time so badly,” someone commented while another said: “If you’ve ever trained for a marathon, the amount of time that goes into is a lot. To be interrupted for a damn proposal is insane.”

“Hopefully she gave it a second thought over the next 10 miles,” someone else joked.

Despite the backlash over the timing of the proposal, some people have pointed out that Curran did say yes to her boyfriend of four years - and seemed pretty excited as she resumed the race.