One Of The World’s Great Ultra-Marathon Runners Caught Using A Car During A Race

Ultramarathon runner

Getty Image / Kai-Otto Melau


A marathon is a nearly impossible feat for most humans as they are. A 26.2-mile race is long enough for all but the most advanced distance runners in America. Finishing a marathon is the crowning achievement for many of America’s hardcore distance runners, and something that in many cases takes years to build up to the level of cardiovascular fitness to do so.

Some go even further than a marathon, and run ultra-marathons. An Ultra-Marathon is defined as any race longer than the 26.2 miles of a standard marathon, but the most standard distance is 100 miles, usually run over the course of the day. To put it in perspective, 100 miles is just slightly shorter than the 112 miles between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Ultra-marathons are much more about endurance than speed, even compared to a marathon. elite marathon runners are still moving pretty fast, with the per-mile pace well under five minutes. Ultra-marathons are mostly about the will to complete the race. And, nothing in the running community is more frowned upon than cheating.

But, in a recent race in Britain, one elite ultra-marathon runner did cheat, as she took a car for part of the race. Here is the BBC with more details.

Joasia Zakrzewski finished third in the 2023 GB Ultras Manchester to Liverpool 50-mile race – but is thought to have travelled by car for 2.5 miles.

The 47-year-old GP, from Dumfries, is understood to have been tracked on GPX mapping data covering a mile of the race in just one minute 40 seconds.

The article went on to say.

“The race didn’t go to plan. She said she was feeling sick and tired on the race and wanted to drop out,” he said.

“She has cooperated fully with the race organisers’ investigations, giving them a full account of what happened.

“She genuinely feels sorry for any upset caused.”

And he added: “Joasia has been a great ambassador for British sport and has inspired so many women to run and achieve their goals.”

That’s a truly shocking revelation. But, it seems like Zakrzewski was honest about the whole incident after the fact, maybe keeping some of her credibility intact.

Garrett Carr BroBible avatar
Garrett Carr is a recent graduate of Penn State University and a BroBible writer who focuses on NFL, College Football, MLB, and he currently resides in Pennsylvania.