If you actually need to upset the operating group, strive utilizing social media to brag about operating a faster-than-average tempo with none coaching—in a race you by no means registered for or paid to take part in.
Alexa Curtis, a “private model entrepreneur,” discovered that the exhausting method this Monday, when she posted a prolonged screed about her “fearless” expertise on the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Half Marathon, a sold-out occasion that drew greater than 21,700 official runners. In a since-deleted put up on X, she mentioned she “didn’t join this race. I simply requested the safety the place it began and the place it ended and jumped in. … The one individual I relied on to indicate up and cross that end line right now was myself.”
Fearless, on this case, appears to imply “the principles don’t apply to me.”
Runners immediately flooded her remark part, calling her out as a “bandit” and a “thief” and dubbing her actions unfair, however Curtis doubled down, saying “life’s not honest.” Later, her publicist mentioned she “determined very last-minute to take part within the Brooklyn Half” and Curtis posted on X saying “I didn’t notice I might offend so many individuals. … I had no intention to take something from anybody or the race … Sooner or later I’ll make sure you search for the principles if I determine to run once more.”
Associated Tales
What does it imply to bandit a race?
To bandit a race means to run with out registering. Individuals do this by beginning and ending with no bib, shopping for a bib from one other runner, producing counterfeit bibs, or operating in one other individual’s place to satisfy a qualifying normal. (The registration web page for the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Half Marathon clearly states “it’s possible you’ll not run with no bib.”)
Flouting these guidelines is problematic for plenty of causes.
Why race banditing is so unhealthy
Working—and racing—is extra standard than ever. Common race registrations in 2023 grew by 5.8 p.c in comparison with 2022, inside knowledge from RunSignup indicated (representing an estimated 35 to 40 p.c of the U.S. endurance market). And the variety of marathoners on the health app Strava elevated 20 p.c in 2023, in line with the health app’s annual Yr in Sport report. At this level, operating is too standard for anybody to feign ignorance round primary race guidelines.
1. It strains sources
Registration charges may be steep. The NYCRUNS Brooklyn Half, for instance, ranges between $125 and $140; the NYC Marathon prices $255 to $315. However that cash isn’t only for shopping for finisher medals and tees in bulk or making a revenue.
“[Fees] cowl occasion planning, highway closures, and public security,” says Randy Accetta, an RRCA-certified race director and founding father of Run Tucson, a company that produces highway and path races at scenic Arizona locations.
“At a excessive stage, the biggest value can be security and safety, in order that’ll embody police, barricade corporations, site visitors management, and staffing—the general employees wanted to supply the race from an occasion organizer perspective is big,” says Phil Dumontet, CEO of Brooksee and founding father of Boulderthon, who oversees 10 races, together with the Mesa Marathon, Portland Marathon, and Las Vegas Marathon, which altogether draw about 60,000 individuals per 12 months. “Insurance coverage, metropolis permits, Porta Potties, timing chips, medical, and on-course hydration are all big-ticket gadgets, too.”
These are all important parts of a protected racing expertise, and “in the event you use the roadways and do not register, you are not paying your justifiable share of those numerous prices,” says Accetta.
“In the event you use the roadways and do not register, you are not paying your share of those numerous prices.”—Randy Accetta
That’s particularly pertinent as highway racing continues to develop as a sport. The London Marathon not too long ago introduced a brand new world file for race functions: 840,310 folks utilized to run in 2025, a forty five p.c enhance over the earlier 12 months. The 2024 race had round 53,000 runners; if the race organizers persist with that quantity, solely about six p.c of candidates can be accepted. It is getting more durable to get into main highway races, which creates frustration (particularly round occasions with lottery functions). However that’s not a purpose to simply leap in.
2. It isn’t protected
Subject sizes are capped for a purpose. “Whether or not it’s a 5,000-person race or a 50,000-person race, there’s finally an influence to town,” says Dumontet. Because of this, the dimensions of the roads and the period of time a location can realistically shut these down will decide the capability of the race.
Have a look at a race just like the New York Metropolis Marathon, which sends its first wave of runners off at round 8 a.m. and its final wave round 12 p.m. “Including extra waves will lengthen the length of the race, which is not all the time doable from a metropolis’s perspective, and site visitors management, police, safety, medical—everybody would simply be on the market for much longer, which is able to scale the prices upward,” he explains.
Coping with unaccounted for runners additional stresses the capability of everybody concerned within the race. “The largest factor for me is the security issues,” says Dumontet. “As a race organizer, you’re basing your infrastructure wants off the entire registered individuals, so not having a real sense of what number of runners are on the market might compromise the security of everybody concerned.”
And most races have runners signal legal responsibility waivers in case of accidents or accidents; bandits gained’t have that insurance coverage protection. “So when somebody will get harm and desires medical care and we do not know who they’re, the general public security equipment turns into careworn and isn’t as obtainable to reply to those that have registered,” says Accetta.
3. It is gross
There’s one other main issue at play, too: social media. Curtis’ unique put up and feedback reek of entitlement and willful ignorance, which she tried to stroll again through an announcement from her publicist, who mentioned that “it was not intentional that she didn’t join, slightly she thought it will be a pleasant method to assist unfold the phrase through her platform concerning the significance of shifting your physique/understanding and the mind-body connection in addition to share some good consciousness for the Brooklyn Half.”
A social platform isn’t a free move. “I believe it’s nice that folks with a platform can unfold the phrase concerning the significance of shifting and the mind-body connection, however I believe it’s egocentric to make use of that as an excuse and irresponsible for an influencer to function mannequin what is actually stealing a service,” says Accetta. “It could have been so a lot better if she’d filmed herself choosing up her packet: ‘Hey all, I am right here at registration and I simply determined to enroll in this race—cannot wait to let you know about it tomorrow…’”
Again in January 2023, one other influencer, the chronically shirtless Matt Choi, was outed by Marathon Investigation, an internet site that inspects suspicious race outcomes, for operating underneath a buddy’s bib in a race with guidelines that clearly forbid bib transfers. In a TikTok apology, he mentioned he forgot to enroll in the Houston Marathon, and received the bib from a buddy who was registered however received injured.
“My intent was to not … cheat the system—I actually simply needed to run,” Choi mentioned. “Working has fully modified my life and it’s a group I’m grateful to be part of.”
The operating group is fantastic—and it deserves respect from those that be part of it. Like all sports activities, operating is greatest when mutual respect is concerned. Nobody is entitled to any race expertise, irrespective of how briskly they’re, what number of followers they’ve, or what their motivations are.
If Curtis was actually operating for her psychological well being, she might have run 13.1 miles in actually another route than that of an official race course for which she didn’t register. If Choi actually simply needed to run, he ought to have finished his analysis (like the opposite 27,000 racers) and registered in time. Banditing exhibits a complete lack of respect for the game, and the runners who take part in it.
“It is a harmful sort of mentality to not take into account the larger image of everybody concerned.”—Phil Dumontet
“The best way I give it some thought is, what if everybody did this?” says Dumontet. “If everybody thought, ‘It’s simply me leaping into this race,’ however then you could have 1,000 runners with that very same mentality, it’s totally clear that the influence on all of the sources of the race can be vital. And it is a harmful sort of mentality to not take into account the larger image of everybody concerned.”
It’d be good if races might simply ban bandits, which is mostly what social media requires in these conditions. However that’s simpler mentioned than finished.
“At an area stage, we would have a tough time managing the duty of banning bandits from a future occasion, we do not have the staffing to watch all race entries or to tug somebody from a race within the midst of an occasion,” says Accetta. Dumontet agrees: “We do not have a coverage in opposition to bandits by way of how that performs out in apply—it is simply so exhausting, in that there isn’t any black listing or strategy to stop them from registering for future races.”
And so, for higher or worse, social media has taken on the function of policing those that break the race guidelines. “I believe the group wants to assist handle this by making it clear that banditing is just not regular and it isn’t cool,” says Accetta.
Working could also be a person sport, however the group side is a part of what’s driving its surge in reputation—and those that disrespect it is going to discover that that sort of perspective will restrict their success in the long term.
