Controversy as Texas Influencer Loses Spot in NYC Marathon

A Texas "influencer" is in hot water with the running community after the recent running of the New York City Marathon.

Running a marathon is a very hard thing to do and those who choose to take on the physical and mental strain of running such a long distance should be applauded. Some folks do it for fun and others do it for the love of competition.

For those that are competitive, the last thing they want to deal with is people getting in their way or not taking it as serious as they are and when that happens, expect to feel their wrath as Matthew Choi found out the hard way recently.

Choi is a running influencer from Austin who finished this year's NYC Marathon with a time of 2:57:15 on Sunday, November 3.

That sounds awesome but he will not be able to keep that time because the New York Road Runners, the organizers of the NYC Marathon, issued a statement disqualifying his time and banning him from any future races organized by the group.

The reason why? Race officials discovered Choi had arranged for two people, his brother and his videographer, to film his run by riding electric bikes next to him throughout the race. Other runners said Choi's production team "obstructed" other runners and several people complained after the race that it was time for Choi to be banned for at least a year.

Of course, in typical "influencer" fashion, Choi posted a video about it to YouTube.

Along with being DQ'd and receiving a lifetime ban, Choi says he was dropped by a company that was sponsoring him and went on to add that while he could appeal the decision, he says he won't and will accept the ban, but will continue to make content in the hopes of inspiring others to take up running.