A wise man once said, “if you’re gonna cheat, be good at it.”
Actually, I’m quite sure that’s a made-up quote, but, nonetheless, if you decide to jump in during the last leg of a marathon, you need to win. You can’t come in second. You just can’t.
A 28-year-old Kenyan man by the name of Julius Njogu did just that during the Nairobi International Marathon on Sunday, failing to get past Joshua Kipkoirr during a last-minute sprint. It’s hard to tell on video when Njogu got into the race, but you can clearly see him lollygagging during the last 100 meters or so.
Njogu tried to convince officials he had run the entire race by taking off his shoes and showing blisters on his feet. That didn’t work. I applaud him trying to get through the lie. No reason to half-ass, just go all the way with it.
Officials said they became suspicious because Njogu showed no signs of fatigue and was not sweating when he had supposedly just run 42 kilometres (26 miles). They discovered that he’d run barely one kilometer after emerging from a bunch of onlookers and joining the leading group of runners just outside the stadium.
By the way, Njogu was charged with fraud. Marathon cheating is a no-no in Kenya.
Anyway, it’s impossible to discuss any race controversy without mentioning the most famous incident. No, not Rosie Ruiz from the 1980 Boston Marathon, but rather Geoffrey the Butler from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
“The Shame of a Nation.”
