Cheating for Likes? A closer Look at Bre Manziel’s and Khloe Yerae’s Half Marathon Disqualifications

1. I have a picture of the U.S. flag on the moon….so clearly I’ve landed on the moon.

   • I thought I saw you there!

2. “There is no dishonor in not finishing. There is dishonor in claiming a false finish” < this right there is gold!

   It seems like just being honest and saying it was harder than you thought, now know why people train for this stuff, I couldn't even finish it/it took me SO LONG but I did it type of posts would endear these instagram influencers to their followers more than so much bragging. Sometimes I hate social media

   Donating. Thanks for keeping our sport honest!

3. “A full-time athlete who hates cardio”. I will just leave that there with an eyeroll.

4. Utterly clueless!

5. Are there other runners that made the same “shortcut” or are Bre and her companion alone in this situation? The existence of other shortcutters or the absence of them would be very telling about what happened.

6. One possibility I haven’t seen discussed much: If they did both loops, but missed the first “out and back”, therefore missing the 6 mile marker and the first trip over the timing mat. Just eye-balling the map, it seems this would cut out a little over a mile. Therefore, the “11 mile timing mat” would have been crossed, after they ran 10 miles, but registered as the 6.4 mile checkpoint, since it was their first cross. This occurred at 1:31:29, giving them around a 9 minute mile pace. The next mat they would have crossed would be the finish line (total ~12 miles, which would be about 2 miles later. That split time would have been 26 minutes for 2 miles, so about 13 minute miles.

   Reasonable times for someone in good shape, who are slowing down to make pictures and be silly near the end. Also not unreasonable that they could miss a single turn (unlikely, but not unheard of), and they would have only missed one mile marker sign (6 miles), so they may not have known.

   Not trying to be super defensive, but I hadn’t seen these numbers discussed yet.

   • Interesting thought that I had not initially considered. However the 2:00:00 pacer has come out definitively saying that they definitely cut the 2nd loop.

     • I read his comment below, but I still see two possible reasons he reported what he did.

       He reported that he passed them around the 1 mile point, then the next time he saw them they turned left at the split to the finish / second loop.

       If they were running about a 9 minute pace until the 11 mile marker (10 miles ran for them, assuming the skipped the first out-and-back), they would have passed him during the out and back, and he would have caught up to them near their second loop as they were slowing down.

       Second possibility is they ran one loop, and must have stopped or really really slowed after their first mile.

       I see both as possible, but them skipping 1 mile seems more likely to me. Have you seen any reports of people saying they were walking most of the race, other than the instagram videos they posted near the end (where the above theory supports they hit a wall and slowed way down)?

       • I have also heard from a 3 hour finisher that reports that she passed them shortly after the start and also were never passed by them. If the 3 hour finisher passed them, that would indicate that they were moving at a much slower pace throughout.

         • If true, that seems a bit more convincing, would love to see more data to corroborate that they were basically walking.

           I’m really trying to give them the benefit of the doubt that they might have missed a single turn on accident instead of purposefully skipping a loop. If it’s possible it was a simple mistake (there is lots of evidence they they don’t know how these races work), I do feel bad how badly these two have been run through the social media grinder for being connected to someone famous. Maybe I’m just getting soft in my old age…

         • with only the one split, there won’t be any more data, just eyewitness accounts. Also if they only did the out and back once, it should be obvious to them that they missed it the first time.

7. Derek you can’t challenge stupid sorry

   • Vanessa,
     You get my up-vote! 😀

8. Disgusting. But they raised a lot of money, right?! RIGHT?!

   $65.

   https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/KhloeTerae

   Nothing like using your publicity opportunity to it’s most and really putting your heart into the cause.

   Or just stunt for the ‘gram instead because the world is all about you.

9. If the 6.4 and 11 mile timing mat were in the same place, could it be that her 11 mile time (1:39:22) was registered on the 6.4 mile mat? That would mean a pretty normal average pace of 8:19 per mile. Her final time of 1:58:22 means she had an average overall pace of 9:07, pretty consistent with her first half.

   (If she ran 6.4 miles in 1:39:22, her pace was more than 15 minutes per mile…she would essentially have been walking, slowly.) Was she seen running at any point in the race?

10. Kenenisa Bekele ran his WR 10k in 26:17.53, she claims to have run 6.7 in 27 minutes. I would pay money to see that race.

    And on additional note, THEY AREN’T EVEN WEARING RUNNING SHOES.

11. I’m pretty certain you nailed it on they ran the course.
    My theories on what went through their (empty) heads.
    A)Those “trained athletes who hate cardio,” were running the course, and started to realize that they were in over their heads. So they decided to skip the 2nd loop.
    B)They were too busy taking selfies and saw some faster runners passing them and followed them to the finish, not realizing they had to take a 2nd loop.
    C)The airheads were thinking about how tired they were, then they saw the 11 & 12 mile markers, and actually thought they ran that far, and took the left turn to the finish, instead of the 2nd loop.

12. Derek, I was there. I saw the two girls cut the course right in front of me. I was the 2:00 pacer along with Diana my copacer. There was a section of cones separating the runners who would turn right to make their second loop around mile 7.5 from those who were heading toward the finish, turning left onto a path and onto Rancho California Rd. Mile 12 was shortly after that. The girls went left instead of taking that second loop, so really they only ran 8.5 miles. They started way in front, we were in the middle of the pack and we passed them around the first mile. I never saw them again until they cut the course. It’s a shame that they took credit for running a sub 2 hour half when I helped two other true runners reach their personal best of under 2 for this half. If not for the notoriety of Johnny Manziel, this would have gone overlooked and they would have gotten away with it. In retrospect I should have told an official at the time but there was no prize money involved, just a bunch of divas strutting their tutus and tiaras so my copacer and I just shook our heads and commented on how stupid it was to cheat.

13. They raised $65 but didn’t donate anything themselves ?

14. It’s amazing how, in so many cases like this, it is the attempts at cover up that do far more damage to the individual’s reputation than the act itself. Had she said, “You’re right, we underestimated how hard it would be and then got caught up in the excitement at the finish line. Sorry, we were stupid.”, the whole thing would have been forgotten within a few days and she could have used the experience positively in her Instagram posts. Now it is just a train wreck.

    • I think you bring up a basic difference between “normal” people and those entrenched in social media culture. (As Derek said, those who would “cheat for likes.”) For us runners, who understand 4-minute miles, we think admitting you’re wrong and moving on is honorable and ends the drama quickly. But for people like these ladies, prolonging the drama by making themselves victims actually benefits them, giving them attention and sympathy. None of their followers understand math and world-record pace anyway.

15. Wtf is an Instagram Model. Since when did that become an actual career? She couldn’t be more pathetic if she tried. She’s probably like, “well like who cares, my husband is a football pla…,” Uh no he’s not. Manziel’s meaning is stupid, arrogant, lowlife cheaters. I did my first Half marathon in Miami on January 2019 and timed at 2:37 so to hear that this bimbo without trying, because as she said “everyone knows I hate cardio” did a sub 2 hour, irritates me big time.

16. To play Devil’s advocate: One excuse she hasn’t used – probably because it has not occurred to her – is to claim that the chip did not register on the first lap (6.4 miles) but did on the second lap (11 miles). If so the table would look like this:

    Mile Total Time Split Time Total Pace Split Pace
    11 1:31:29 1:31:29 0:08:19 0:08:19
    13.1 1:58:22 0:26:53 0:09:02 0:12:48

    While the data does look implausible it is no longer impossible as she could claim she hit the wall badly just after mile 11. Is their any other evidence? I would assume, given the name of the race, there will be tons of race photos available. Does anyone know where these are?

    My apologies to the running community if she suddenly uses this as her explanation.

    • I suppose that’s possible, but she and her friend both look fresh as daisies in their post-race pictures. If they really did 2-hour pace, they wouldn’t look like that.

    • And the 2-hour pacer commented somewhere that he saw them cut the course.

      • Yes that was me. They definitely turned left to run the last section to the finish line instead of going right to make their second loop.

      • I too am sure they cheated. After all both runners will have to have identical chip errors for the 11 mile theory to hold. For the sake of completeness Derek ought to address this line of excuse. The comment from the 2 hour pacer will obviously go a long way to achieving this. I hadn’t seen that before, has Derek confirmed it?

        • I tried to post this theory earlier but it didn’t go through. I think you are right that they missed the first timing mat, but I think they probably went straight before the 6 mile marker and skipped the ~1 mile out and back.

          This would mean they ran about 10 miles before they hit their first mat at 1:30. So they would have been around a 9 minute mile pace. Their last section would have been only 2 miles at a 13 minute mile pace.

          The 2 hour pacer would have seen them turn left as he reported, and it’s not hard to believe that a fitness blogger could look rested after running 12 miles.

          This seems more realistic to me than saying that ran 1 look at a 14+ minute pace. This is just walking fast, and I think plenty of witnesses would have come out saying they saw them walk the whole loop.

          Love what you do Derek! Keep it up, and I’d love you see you address this possibility.

          • I also have heard from a 3 hour finisher that says they passed them early on, and reported that she was never passed by them.

          • another small point. If they skipped the out and back the first time, but hit it the 2nd time…they would have been fully aware that they skipped that section and did not run the full race.

          • Cody, the timing mat at mile 6.4 and mile 11 was the same one. Since the bibs were chipped, runners who ran the course correctly hit the mat twice. These girls couldn’t have skipped the first loop as everyone had to go the same way to mile 3 and around to redo the loop at mile 7.5. They just didn’t run the second loop. I saw them cut the course. And if you check Chloe’s Instagram post they’re prancing along on the last mile, no way was that faster than a 14 minute pace. I see no reason to believe anything other than they cheated. Period.

          • Thinking this through some more:

            If they only skipped the first out and back, and passed the 2 hour pacer on the first loop, the 2 hour pacer would have seen them on the 2nd loop out and back. Chloe and Bre would not have been so far ahead that they would have done the entire out and back before the 2 hour pacer started on the ‘out’.

          • Joe I’m not suggesting they ran the entire course correctly and the mat didn’t register the first time, I’m suggesting they could have missed the first out-and-back which included the 6.4 mile checklist. If they did, they certainly should have known they missed it when they did it the second time, but it’s possible they weren’t paying that much attention (they don’t seem to be very familiar with how half marathons work). Or they purposefully cheated, but only cheated by a mile instead of by many miles. In my head the paces seem more reasonable assuming this instead of them running only one loop.

            I’m just curious how you could tell which way they SHOULD have gone when you saw them turn at the final split, was it just because you hadn’t seem them pass you? If they had missed the first out-and-back, and passed you up over that ~1 mile, then you caught up to them around the 1:50 mark, wouldn’t this work out? You pass them early in the race, they pass you when they miss the turn for the first loop out-and-back (so you don’t see them), they you catch up at the final split, where they had hit the wall and really dropped from a 9 minute mile pace.

            If the story is true that 3 hour racers were passing them, then all my
            theory crafting is for nothing, and I’m ready to terminate my sympathy for them.

          • Another good point Derek, I’m feeling more confident that you were right, but I’m holding out a little hope that they are just arrogant and ignorant. I’m tossing in a donation for your great efforts here, I really enjoyed pretending to be a sideline investigator on this case, haha.

            I think this case is a good one for the need for more than one timing mat out there on these races 🙂

17. “Running 6.7 miles in 27 minutes is impossible for a human.”

    It’s even harder when you are pausing to take photos of the mile markers.

18. Okay let’s put this to rest. They ran the first loop along with everyone else and hit the 6.4 mile mat at their 14 minute pace. If you look at the revised course that Derek provided, there’s a decision point at around 7.5 miles. Volunteers were directing runners at that point to go right to continue to the second loop or left to mile 12 and the finish. They went left in front of me. They never ran a 9 minute pace. No way. So in essence they ran a 8.5 mile course in under 2 hours. To claim a half marathon is wrong. And by missing the timing mat at mile 11 they won’t even get ranked in the results. Because they cheated.

    • Yep. Just another case of someone finding the brightest light to shine themselves so that everyone looks at them, getting caught cheating, and then blaming everyone else for looking at them and holding them accountable.

19. I am tired of people entering races and cheating. They have no honor. Zero. These women are trash.

20. If she were REALLY interested in “proving” she ran the whole thing, she could share the pictures of all the mile markers and their metadata, including the time-stamps and file-names (consecutive pic’s would have consecutive file-names). Not holding my breath.

    • Or for a pro athlete like her, it would be trivial to simply knock out a 2:00 HM under supervision by the Letsrun site owners

21. This is getting some mainstream press. There are articles on USA Today, Fox News; and Inside Edition included a short interview of Derek.
    https://www.insideedition.com/instagrammer-denies-accusations-she-cheated-half-marathon-51106

22. Well 10k world record is 26:17, so 6.7 miles in 27 minutes is impossible but will probably be achieved at some point (not by her obviously)

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