A social media influencer received a load of backlash after posting herself crossing the finish line of the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Half Marathon on Sunday despite not signing up for the race.
Alexa Curtis, 26, posted an apology on X, where she said the post was "meant to be inspirational."
"I did not realize I would offend so many people," she wrote. "…I had no intention to take anything from anyone or the race: I was running for myself for my mental health. In the future I’ll be sure to look up the rules if I decide to run again."
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Curtis was banditing, otherwise known as running a race without registering. It’s a highly controversial thing to do considering entry frees for races are used to pay for security, medical responders, water and Gatorade during the race, and more.
A portion of registration, which is $125 and up, also go to charity. NYU Langone Healthy is the Brooklyn Half Marathon’s "signature charity partner."
Curtis admitted she didn’t sign up for the race in a lengthy post.
"Just ran 13.1 milles for the Brooklyn half marathon at a 7.43 minute pace," Curtis’s post read. "I didn’t walk at all. I cried during a lot of it. I went to bed at 10 PM.
"I just asked the security where it started and where it ended and jumped in," she said while explaining the hardships she’s had in her life recently. "No one watched me cross the finish line this year.
"When people ask me what being fearless is, it’s like asking security where the race starts and where it ends. Everything in the middle, all the bull***, the pain, the trauma you’re gonna experience in your life is nothing because you started running and you’re not going to stop just because you cross that finish line. You never have it all figured out but you rely on yourself because that’s all you have in life: you."
People who didn’t appreciate Curtis jumping into the race flooded her comments, with one X user saying, "You are a bandit and you stole from this race and this community. These things are expensive and for charity. Shame on you."
Curtis replied to this comment.
"You know I don’t have the energy to reply to this but I’m gonna because last week I refunded a client $17,000 because I was an idiot, didn’t have a contract and she decided she wasn’t ‘happy and desperately needed the money back’ but the last thing I wanted was an American Express dispute to then deal with none of my existing clients to be able to have their invoices processed.
"I worked for free for 2 weeks while running a second business (be fearless) where I constantly lose money yet show up to inspire young women to be fearless who rely on me to.
"So get back to me about stealing – google the definition of it cause that’s what happened to me in business this month not running a half marathon. Hbu? Any wins and losses you wanna mention on twitter?"
Curtis’ publicist told The New York Post that she "decided last minute to participate in the Brooklyn Half."
"It was not intentional that she did not sign up, rather she thought it would be a nice way to help spread the word via her platform about the importance of moving your body/working out and the mind-body connection as well as share some nice awareness for the Brooklyn Half," read the statement, which also pointed out Curtis is visiting from overseas.
"Her participation was meant to be a positive move, and it’s very unfortunate that she is now receiving such negative backlash about something that was to be uplifting for her followers."
NYCRUNS issued a statement to The Post as well, saying a record was made with participants in this race.
"We had a record number of runners at Sunday’s NYCRUNS Brooklyn Half Marathon with over 21,000 official finishers.
"Our top priority is the safety and well-being of every one of those runners, and the bib that every runner wears is their lifeline if a medical issue arises on the course," the statement continued. "It’s dangerous to run in a race without a bib, and it’s also not fair to the thousands of runners who are."
Curtis, a Connecticut native, founded Be Fearless Inc., which is a "reinvented career brand" that aims to "helping you be fearless & the boss of your own life." Curtis has 13,100 followers on X and 23,300 on Instagram.
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