Over the past few months, I’ve read some stories about people who have cheated in road races. This Runner’s World article discusses some possible reasons why runners would cheat in races.
Apparently, they cheated because they wanted to place in their age category, or qualify for the Boston Marathon, get attention on social media for their “achievement”, or make sure that they finish the race before the finish line closes due to time limits.
But, in reality, is it really worth it?
Is it really worth selling your honour for the price of an age group medal, a few hundred bucks (prize money), or a like on Facebook?
What about falsely qualifying for Boston and taking a spot from a fellow runner who legitimately qualified and who worked hard to get there?
And then, what if you get found out and exposed for being a cheater? It will all backfire!
You see, technology has made it easier to spot the cheaters. From race photos to timing mats throughout the course to the ability to see what your previous race times have been, the likelihood that you will get exposed as a cheater is far too great. Then, your reputation in the running community will forever be tainted.
Also, you must understand that if, for example, you run a half marathon in 1:32 (having never run anything even close to it in the past year) and then run another one in 1:43 on a course of similar difficulty, you will raise some suspicion. Or, if your best 5k time is 30 minutes and you pull off a sub 1:35 half marathon, people will question the legitimacy of your result.
When you get exposed as a cheater, no one wins. You lose because your prize will most likely be taken away and you will be removed from the race results. The legitimate winners will lose because you took away their moment on the podium and created a scandal surrounding what’s supposed to be a great sport.
When you cheat, it’s like a slap in the face to those who worked hard to get to where they are. People train for months and months (possibly even years), so losing their place to a cheater is not exactly what they signed up for when they decided to run the race.
I would much rather place 10th in my age group, knowing that I gave it my best and trained hard to get my result than cheating to get a better placing.
When you cheat, you know that you didn’t earn it. Deep down, don’t you feel like a fraud? When you do something wrong, you know that there is a risk that someone will find out.
Cheating is exactly like stealing and this is why I hope that every cheater gets caught.
The cheaters are the real losers in this sport, not the people who legitimately finish last and give it their best. I admire the people who legitimately finish in the back of the pack because they did so honestly. They will continue to improve and get better placing.
On the other hand, cheaters will never improve. There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. Their actions defeat the purpose of racing and they can never be truly proud of their “achievement”.
Think about it…is it really an achievement when you take a shortcut to get a PB?
I also admire the people who genuinely finish in the front for all the work that they put in to get there. When people cheat, they devalue the work that legitimate winners put into the race.
All in all, I don’t really hate cheaters. I feel sorry for them because they will never experience the true joy that genuine achievement brings. Man is happiest in the act of accomplishment and cheating certainly does not accomplish anything.
Sure, a cheater may finish in front of me and of course it would anger me if they get away with it that time. But, the one thing I know for sure is that I can always look in the mirror and say: “I did so honestly and I will always have my integrity.”
They are the ones that have to look in the mirror every day and see themselves for what they did. One day, they will get caught. No one gets away with wrongdoing for too long.
Integrity is the most valuable asset. On and off the roads. Always.