11,000 runners disqualified from Mexico City Marathon for cheating

Almost a third of participants who ran in the Mexico City Marathon last month were disqualified after it was discovered that runners cut the course during the event.

Of the 30,000 that entered the race on Aug. 27, 11,000 did not complete the required distance after tracking data showed some bypassing entire sections of the 26.2-mile course. Complaints were also received alleging that some runners used using public transportation, vehicles and bicycles to finish the race.

The data showed that some runners did not hit the checkpoints placed every five kilometers.

"The Mexico City Sports Institute informs that it will proceed to identify those cases in which participants of the XL Mexico City Marathon Telcel 2023 have demonstrated an unsportsmanlike attitude during the event and will invalidate their registration times," organizers said in a statement to Spanish newspaper Marca.

"This great event not only represents an outstanding celebration for all the inhabitants of the capital, but also an occasion to reaffirm the transcendental values of sport."

The Mexico City Marathon has had issues in the past with cheating.

More than 6,000 runners were booted from the 2017 race and did not receive medals for finishing, and almost 3,100 racers were disqualified the next year.