Ariana Grande gave one New York City Marathon runner a surprise they will likely remember for years. The singer-actress wrote a personal note for a stranger, which later reached runner Ellie after she completed the race.
The moment appeared in an Instagram video shared by Ella Schweigerr, the creator behind Ella’s Envelope. The initiative collects handwritten messages from strangers and delivers them to marathon runners. Runner Ellie picked a note and discovered Ariana had written and signed it alongside Ricky. Her reaction quickly shifted from curiosity to disbelief, then to excitement.
Schweigerr shared the idea behind the initiative and wrote, “I took ella’s envelope to the New York marathon to collect kind messages from strangers to deliver to runners they’d never met… AND ARIANA GRANDE WROTE ONE!!!”
The creator also thanked Ariana and everyone who contributed, adding, “you made someone’s day.” Finally, she congratulated Ellie on completing the marathon.
Ariana Grande’s sweet gesture was part of a bigger act of kindness
The creator brought Ella’s Envelope to the marathon to collect kind messages from strangers and deliver them to runners they had never met. The idea was to give participants personal notes of encouragement as they took on the challenging race. Ariana Grande also contributed a handwritten message, which eventually reached Ellie after she crossed the finish line. Her note became one of the many messages intended to make a runner’s day special.
The note arrived during a milestone year for the New York City Marathon. Held on November 1, the 2026 race marked the 50th anniversary of its five-borough course. Nearly 60,000 athletes ran the 26.2-mile course through Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Organizers first introduced the five-borough course in 1976, taking the race beyond Central Park and across the city.
The Instagram post doesn’t say the Wicked star ran the marathon or explain exactly where she wrote the note. It calls her someone who contributed a message to Ella’s Envelope. Ellie received it after completing the demanding race. Her reaction showed how much a thoughtful message from a stranger can mean.
