Influencers run marathons. Or maybe marathon runners become influencers? It’s a chicken and the egg kind of question, but it’s a scenario that has been a constant since the dawn of running culture online — especially on TikTok — and one that has only picked up since the pandemic.
This is normally not a problem — in fact it’s a benefit. Marathons have gotten more popular, in part, because of influencers, which most people see as an overall positive addition to the sport. But something hit the fan over the weekend when one influencer was disqualified from the New York City Marathon after running the course with what was basically a team of folks filming him.
“After a review and due to violations of World Athletics rules, and New York Road Runners’ Code of Conduct and Rules of Competition, NYRR has disqualified Matt Choi from the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon and removed him from the results,” the New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon, said in a statement, according to Runner’s World. “He has been banned from any future NYRR races.”
Choi is a Texas-based influencer who finished the marathon in under three hours — 2:57:15, to be exact. It’s a pretty killer time, but not one that will be reflected in official results because the 29-year-old “ran with the assistance of two unauthorized people riding the course on electric bicycles, obstructing runners,” the statement said, Runner’s World reported.
There has been mixed reactions from social media. In one video with nearly half a million views, TikTok creator Michael Brandt said Choi “inspires a lot of people to go sign up for their first marathon or their next marathon.”
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“It’s fundamentally driving a lot of attention to … a sport that can be boring,” Brandt said in the video. “He’s making it really electric and exciting.”
But, on the other hand, Brandt admits, “a lot of people try to get tickets and can’t get tickets. Space is very limited, and so to just add a couple of friends on bikes onto the course that you’re not supposed to be on goes against the rules.”
Choi, for his part, apologized on TikTok on Wednesday admitting he endangered people and got in the way of other participants.
“I have no excuses, full stop,” he said. “I was selfish on Sunday.”
Choi added that he would not appeal NYRR’s decision to ban him.
“I made my bed, so I’m going to lay in it,” he said.
Overall, the general consensus on TikTok and on Reddit within the running community is that people are not happy with Choi’s choice to bring other people onto the course — even if he is trying to make a statement about the importance of the sport. After all, dozens of influencers ran the race this year, and they found ways to make their race inclusive of their fans without alienating people who were actually racing it, too.