While it might not seem like the worst thing in the world to deceive your followers into believing you finished a race two, 10 or 30 minutes faster than you actually did, many are also advertising nutrition or running plans based on the results they “achieved”.
It is worth noting that a lot of influencers are awarded their places by brands and do not have to go through the uncertainty of the ballot or the commitments of a charity place. In New York, some influencers are given pride of place, starting the marathon early in a specific corral, ahead of the elites, through sponsor Mastercard.
There is a place for social media in today’s world, but the London Marathon route is not one of those. After all, who wants to watch shaky footage of hundreds of people narrating “wow, look at this” as they run across Tower Bridge? There is only so much even the algorithms can take. And unless the “runfluencers” are all put in a specific wave, where they can film without affecting other people, it will continue to be a problem.
There will be hundreds, or even thousands, of other runners who just want to get on with the race and not have to argue for phones and GoPros to be put down to allow for a rare, authentic experience. After all, the race is adorned with enough photographers to capture your best – or worst – angle anyway.