More than 200 runners in last weekend’s big Shenzhen Half Marathon were caught cheating by traffic cameras as they snuck through trees, cutting out up to three kilometers from the course. (I did similar things in high school gym class although my motivation was not the competitive spirit but rather laziness.) Other cheaters in Shenzhen wore fake number bibs or ran under others’ names. From The Guardian:
Xinhua (news agency) quoted organisers as saying: “We deeply regret the violations that occurred during the event. Marathon running is not simply exercise, it is a metaphor for life, and every runner is responsible for him or herself.”
ther marathon events in China are reported to have started using facial recognition technology to track runners.
Competitors in other marathons are now kitted out with electronic chips that register runners’ progress as they pass over timing mats installed around the course. This provides more accurate times – but it also gives organisers, and anyone who cares to look, a wealth of data to examine for suspicious results.