The London Marathon is one of the hardest challenges any individual can put themselves through, but one individual completed the ordeal and was then accused of cheating
This year, thousands of people will will take to the capital to take on the London Marathon. Over the course of 26.219 miles, people ranging from elite and professional runners to total novices will go through all of the emotions to complete the marathon and raise money for charity while doing so.
Physically and mentally, they will need to push themselves through all sorts of barriers to get to the end. Once they cross the finish line, they will experience a catharsis of relief and pride, while being flocked by their loved ones and friends.
However, after completing the race in 2023, Kate Carter, an editor of the respected running magazine Runner’s World UK, was accused of cheating. Instead of celebration, she was forced to defend herself against huge accusations of “unethical” behaviour.
The accusations against her emerged after some anomalies were spotted in her performances at two major events in the capital. The claims, which were made on US blog ‘Marathon Investigation’, related to an incident where she manually drew a map of her running route for her 4,000 followers on the tracking app Strava.
The GPS map she drew herself made it look like she ran the 2023 London Marathon in three hours and 19 minutes, but the route she created was from the 2019 course, not the 2023 one. After a backlash, Carter changed her account from public to private.
She also competed without a race chip, meaning no official time or record of her taking part was logged. There was also a gap in her London Landmarks Half Marathon times, as a result of her failure to register a split at the 15-kilometre mark.
This saw her average time for part of the race be brought down, resulting in her finish time being noted as one hour and 32 minutes, the 42nd fastest out of more than 10,000 competitors. She then claimed her Garmin sports watch had “died completely”.
When she was accused of “unethical” behaviour, Carter immediately denied the accusations and said she raced without a chip as she did not sought an official race time because she was not in peak fitness.
Last year, she was cleared of cheating by the governing body, England Athletics. After she was exonerated, Carter said: “In truth, I feel like I’ve been through hell, and I am not yet out of the other side.
“Running was a big part of my identity, whether it was volunteering, fundraising, racing or coaching for my local club, or writing about the sport I love. Having been cleared, I really hope to find that joy again.”
She added: “To reiterate: I am not a cheat. And I have never cheated. We all now live in a world where people, often hiding behind fake identities, make accusations without regard for the truth or the consequences of their actions.”
England Athletics confirmed their findings, claiming they had ‘found there was no intention to deceive and no attempt to benefit from the results’.
Carter holds the record for the best marathon time while wearing an animal costume.
