DWTS Alum Forced to Drop Out of Marathon Due to Illness

Heavy Reality TV alum "Grocery Store Joe" Amabile had to drop out of the NYC marathon.

A former contestant from “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Bachelor” franchise had to drop out of running the New York City Marathon just the day before it took place. Season 27 DWTS contestant “Grocery Store Joe” Amabile shared the disappointing news in an Instagram post.

Joe Amabile Trained Hard for the NYC Marathon

Just a few hours before the start of the NYC Marathon on November 3, Amabile took to his Instagram page to explain the change in plans.

In the caption, Amabile wrote, “After the shakeout run yesterday my back was aching and I caught a fever.”

He continued, “I was really hoping it was going to break through the night.”

Unfortunately, Amabile added, “After getting ready this morning my temp is still a little over 100 and my whole body aches. Probably best that I don’t run 26 miles today.”

He then wished everybody running good luck.

Amabile included a video in his Instagram post where he added some additional information. He noted it was about 3:45 a.m. as he recorded and he had been up for about an hour.

When he went to sleep on November 2, he said he had a slight fever. When he woke up and took his temperature, he was at 100.4 degrees.

In an Instagram Story, Amabile showed the thermometer reading 100.4 degrees and noted that it was after taking Tylenol and a cold shower.

Amabile was clearly quite disappointed, as he had trained hard for the marathon.

Colleagues & Fans Were Bummed for Amabile

Amabile received a lot of love from co-stars and fans in the comments section of his Instagram post.

Current “Dancing with the Stars” contender and former “The Bachelor” star Joey Graziadei commented, “Terrible luck! Listen to your body and rest up. Sorry man.”

Former “The Bachelor” Ben Higgins added, “Dude I’m bummed for you!”

Matt James also led a season of “The Bachelor” and then competed on “Dancing with the Stars.” After seeing Amabile’s post he wrote, “Ahh man, sorry to hear that, rest up Joe!”

James was set to run the NYC marathon on November 3, too.

“Dancing with the Stars” champion Kaitlyn Bristowe, who was also a lead for “The Bachelorette,” shared, “Shooooot I’m so sorry.”

A supporter wrote, “Feel better, Joe! There will be another time. Your health is the most important thing!”

“Bachelor in Paradise” veteran Sean McLaughlin commented, “Brutal timing sorry to hear that man! Feel better.”

“Hopefully you get better soon🥰Take care of yourself 🍯🥣🫖,” wrote another of Amabile’s supporters.

On November 1, Amabile shared a video on Instagram related to the NYC marathon. He was with “The Bachelorette” star Zac Clark, who was also running.

Amabile explained in the video that he was running the marathon for Clark’s foundation, the Release Recovery Foundation. The foundation also hosted the “shakeout run” on November 2 that Amabile referenced in his other post.

He noted that Release was a good cause, and urged those with the means to donate to do so.

Leading up to the NYC marathon, Amabile had trained consistently in anticipation of the 26.2-mile run. On September 28, he posted a video as he ran a 20-mile training run with Clark. He noted the previous day, he ran a 10-mile training run.

Clark commented on that September post, “Not bad for a guy who showed up to his first run a year ago in khakis. Great run and great conversation.”