A New Zealander who flew to New York to run in the marathon on Sunday stopped halfway through to push a struggling disabled racer in a hand-cycle to the end in a heartwarming gesture of sportsmanship.

Ben Parore, 30, came to New York with charity Cure Kids New Zealand, which funds medical research, to take part in Sunday's race.

He had completed around half of it by himself when, while filming a selfie video, he came across 59-year-old James Akaka.

As Parore gestured for him to smile on the camera, Akaka - who cannot speak - motioned towards the back of his augmented bicycle.

Parore, after confirming that he wanted help pushing it along, jumped behind it.

Ben Parore, 30, was filming himself running when he encountered James Akaka (right), a 59-year-old from Hawaii who was taking part in a hand-cycle. Akaka gestured to to the camera and then to the back of his bike to ask for a hand

The pair then completed the race together. Akaka's time was seven hours flat and Parore's was 5 hours and 12 minutes.

Speaking to DailyMail.com on Monday, Parore said he was unconcerned with his finish time throughout.

‘The race was amazing. It’s my first time doing the New York Marathon and my heart was so full just being with thousands of people representing their families, cultures and countries.

‘I was loving the race, so hyped being on the streets. Wow, what a feeling,' he said.

He had just completed mile 13, he said, when he found James.

'He was giving it his all. He couldn’t talk to me but he could hear me… it’s like we were supposed to race together,' he said.

Akaka had traveled from Honolulu.

Parore, who is a personal trainer in New Zealand, took a hold of the back of Akaka's bike to pus him the remainder of the race - some 13 miles

Parore pushing Akaka towards the end of the race. Akaka turned the wheel of his bike with one hand

Parore's friends from New York, who had turned out to support him, showered him with gummy bears at one point in the route

The pair crossed the finish line together and are pictured afterwards

A chef and father-of-three, he lost his voice and became partially paralyzed after suffering a stroke in 2011.

Parore was running for a children's charity in his native New Zealand. He told DailyMail.com he didn't care about his finish time and that the entire race had left him feeling inspired

Since then, he has taken part in competitive swims and marathons for Ride 2 Recovery.

He communicates with friends and family through typing or writing messages to them.

He completed Monday's race as part of the Achilles International team, which encourages people with disabilities to compete in mainstream running events.

Parore said he was left inspired by the man's determination.

He has raised $4,861 of his desired $5,000 for Cure Kids. His fundraising page can be found here.

Achilles International, the charity which Akaka was participating on behalf of, is found here.

'His determination and willpower is amazing. I’m just blessed I can run. I’m inspired by his efforts,' he said, adding that he hoped the pair would meet again.

Sunday's marathon saw more than 53,000 cross the finish line.

The overwhelming majority of runners (39,000) had come from outside of New York City to take part.

The oldest to complete it was 89-year-old Rosalie Ames, who crossed the finish line in under six hours.

Fifty people in wheelchairs completed the race and 69 finished it with hand-cycles, like Akaka.

Akaka suffered a stroke in 2011 which left him unable to speak and partially paralyzed. He now completes races in a hand-cycle and on Sunday, he was part of the Achilles International team