Cheating in Amateur Sport: The Marathon Bus Cheat
On a Sunday morning in October 2011, Sunderland Harrier Rob Sloan participated in the gruelling 26.2-mile Kielder Marathon. At mile 20, feeling weary, Sloan staggered on board a local bus, hopping off just before the finish, making him the third runner to cross the line. This came as a huge shock to fellow amateur runner Steve Cairns of Peebles who was adamant he had finished the race in third place. Cairns questioned this and after receiving his medal, Sloan eventually admitted he was a cheat.
Figure 1 – Photograph by Mateusz Dach from Pexels
This is just one of many cases which illustrates the lengths that some amateur athletes are prepared to go to in order to gain an unfair advantage.
Another example of a high-profile marathon cheat is substandard runner, Rosie Ruiz. As she crossed the finish line of the 1980 Boston Marathon in first place, Ruiz appeared bizarrely composed for someone who had just set a course record. Astonishingly, organisers later discovered Ruiz had departed the train and joined the race with just under a mile to go.
So why is this an issue in amateur sport? What is the motive for cheating when there is no obvious monetary reward?
It is the gloating that comes from completing a marathon which is fuelling a rise in high-profile incidents where amateur marathoners have misled event organisers. So many participants now strive towards receiving a finishers medal, that collecting as many as possible can become addictive, often from events that without being dishonest they may struggle to accomplish. The opportunity to gain this level of kudos from putting minimal effort in is often a major incentive for these tricksters.
Nowadays, the ever-increasing use of social media is contributing to the publicization of vanity in sport. Participants are driven by the opportunity to post desirable photographs of themselves with extrinsic rewards, such as finishers medals on a social media – often in an attempt to gain popularity and admiration from followers. I have first-hand witnessed how this incentive is regrettably taking over modern-day sport, through the use of immodest images posted by those I compete against.
Figure 2 - Photograph by Bruce Mars from Pexels
The amateur cheating phenomenon is particularly visible in the most sought-after marathons, such as the New York Marathon where participants often ‘bib swap’, travel sections in cars, and cut corners. In 2014, approximately 50 of the 50,530 participants were disqualified from the New York Marathon.
With this in mind, it is important to consider why this number of dishonest participants in sport is so high. Perhaps it is purely a consequence of improvements in technology, resulting in more offenders being caught?
Many folks can comprehend the motive for cheating in elite sport, through the possibility of being rewarded extrinsically, with the likes of financial and recognition gains. It is said that being word leader in ANY sport is worth 10 to 100 times more than being runner up.
Numerous marathon event organisers have introduced chips, which participants are required to wear in order to track their whereabouts. I have competed in numerous races wearing chip’s and I am consequently mindful of how this can lead to issues, including increased costs for event organisers and consequently race entries - a measure that I trust could have been avoided, however it is now required to ensure races are fair for all participants.
When Kielder Marathon trickster Rob Sloan was found to be guilty, Steve Cram excluded Sloan from all of his future events and Sloan shortly vanished from the sport. Nonetheless, if cheating is continuing to linger in amateur sport, should more be done to modify the rules in a bid to counteract this dishonest behaviour?
Russell, J. (2014). Is There a Normatively Distinctive Concept of Cheating in Sport (or anywhere else)?. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 41(3), P.303-323.
Sailors, P.R., Teetzel, S. and Weaving, C. (2017). Cheating, lying, and trying in recreational sports and leisure practices. Annals of Leisure Research, 20(5), P.563-577.
Ward, A. (2015). “How Common is Cheating in Marathons.” Runners World, June 22. Available at: https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a20808313/how-common-is-cheating-at-marathons/ [Last accessed 6th November 2018].
Wilding, M. (2018). The Guardian. Meet the marathon cheats. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/oct/28/meet-the-marathon-cheats?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other [Last accessed: 6th November 2018].
Figure 1 - https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-having-a-marathon-1072705/
Figure 2 - https://www.pexels.com/photo/three-woman-in-assorted-color-sport-bras-holding-and-watching-their-smartphones-905336/
