Scottish runner disqualified for ‘using vehicle’ in ultra-marathon

A Scottish runner has been stripped of third place in an ultra-marathon after data showed she had used a vehicle for part of the route, the race director said.

Data from the tracking system at the GB Ultras Manchester to Liverpool 80km race on April 7 showed that Joasia Zakrzewski, who represented Scotland in the marathon at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, used a car for a 4km stretch of the race, the BBC reported.

Race director Wayne Drinkwater said he had received information that a runner had gained an “unsporting, competitive advantage during a section of the event”.

He told the BBC: “Having reviewed the data from our race tracking system, GPX data, statements provided from our event team, other competitors and from the participant herself, we can confirm that a runner has now been disqualified from the event having taken vehicle transport during part of the route.”

Zakrzewski said the incident was a result of a miscommunication.

“When I got to the checkpoint I told them I was pulling out and that I had been in the car, and they said ‘you will hate yourself if you stop’,” Zakrzewski told the BBC.

“I agreed to carry on in a non-competitive way.

“I made a massive error accepting the trophy and should have handed it back. I was tired and jetlagged and felt sick.

“It wasn’t malicious, it was miscommunication. I would never purposefully cheat and this was not a target race, but I don’t want to make excuses.”