Alexa Curtis, a 26-year-old social media influencer from New York City took to social media on April 28, to celebrate completing her first half marathon. Her achievement did not get the reaction she expected. Instead, she was criticized for running the Brooklyn Half Marathon without a bib and boasting about her time online.
Curtis explained on X that instead of signing up for the race, she asked the security guard for the exact location where the race started and ended, and started running. “I just ran 13.1 miles for the Brooklyn half marathon at a 7:43-minute [mile] pace. I didn’t walk at all. I cried during a lot of it. I went to bed at 10 p.m.” she said. “I didn’t charge my AirPods last night. I didn’t train for this. The most I’ve run in the past 13 months was six miles. I had two glasses of wine last night.”
The post ended as she compared running the half marathon to her every day life.”The only person I relied on to show up and cross that finish line today was myself.”
Social media did not give Curtis any sympathy. “You are a bandit and you stole from this race and this community. These races are expensive and for charity. Shame on you,” one comment read. Another commenter agreed, writing: ” It’s a bit unfair on the others who have paid for the police support, road closures and first aiders…”
The cost of the race for those participating was USD $125.00. Curtis added gasoline to the fire by responding to the comments writing that “life is not fair.”
Life’s not fair 🙁
— Alexa Curtis (@Alexa_Curtis) April 28, 2024
Banditing, which is also known as bandit racing, refers to participating in a race without officially registering or paying the entry fee. Bandits join the race without signing up, or obtaining a bib number or any form of identification. This is extremely frowned upon and poses a lot of logistical and safety issues for race organizers.
After igniting the fire, Curtis tried to make a second post to negate some of the hateful comments. “I did not realize I would offend so many people,” she said. “The post was meant to be inspirational and I had no intention to take anything from anyone or the race: I was running for myself for my mental health.”
I am extremely sorry and promise to do better.
Alexa pic.twitter.com/Og3siGG3De
— Alexa Curtis (@Alexa_Curtis) April 30, 2024
On April 29, Curtis released a statement apologizing for her misunderstanding and said this would be the last time she’d do something like this before looking up the rules first.
