Sports
Influencer bashed for running Brooklyn Half Marathon without registering, mocks critics before issuing apology
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.”
Participants of the New York City Half-Marathon are seen here along Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn on Sunday March 17, 2024. 0801. (Theodore Parisienne for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
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.
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“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.
Participants of the New York City Half-Marathon are seen here along Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn on Sunday March 17, 2024. 0801. (Theodore Parisienne for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
“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.
The 2024 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon is held in New York City. The course starts in Brooklyn and ends in Central Park in Manhattan. (Roy Rochlin/New York Road Runners via Getty Images)
“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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Shaun White retired from competitive snowboarding following a fourth-place finish in the halfpipe event at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
White was only in his mid-30s when he decided to step away from the spot he dominated for so long. He won three gold medals at the Olympics dating back to 2006 in Italy, not to mention the 10 X Games gold medals he racked up during his illustrious career.
Shaun White of the United States in action in the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe Final at Genting Snow Park during the Winter Olympic Games on Feb. 11, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
With the trend of great athletes possibly second-guessing retirement, White admitted in an interview with Fox News Digital that the itch to return to snowboarding is “always there.”
“It’s just kind of maintaining this sort of like, well, ‘you stopped for a reason.’ And I spoke to a lot of athletes and they were just like, ‘It never goes away,’” he said. “You’re like watching TV and (say) I could’ve made that catch. They’re just like that’s just embedded and ingrained in your for so many years of doing it. But there’s like this amazing life waiting for you outside of that.”
White said he picked the brains of some famous athletes about how they look at their careers when they are off the field or out of the pool.
Shaun White arrives for The Albies hosted by the Clooney Foundation at the New York Public Library in New York City on Sept. 28, 2023. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
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“Guys like Michael Strahan, Michael Phelps and I even ran into Tom Brady, which was actually great because he did the, ‘Hey I’m gonna come back’ and yeah it’s hard to let go of that feeling. And it was cool to talk to him about (it) like, ‘Man, we did it. We had our moment and we can celebrate that because the history books will show,’” White said.
He told Fox News Digital he is developing a solid career outside of competition but is still practicing tricks. While he may not be competing against other nations come 2026, he expects to be back in Italy to cheer on his friends.
Nina Dobrev and Shaun White at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party held at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 10, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. (Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)
“It’s definitely fun, and I’ve still been able to get back out on the mountain and work on tricks and have fun and ride. I have my own brand called White Space and we do boards and outerwear and all this stuff. I’m still involved in the sport through that. I was still testing products. We have now young riders that we sponsor. It’s been cool but yeah definitely, like, I’ll be there probably on the microphone or something for that Games. Definitely cheering my friends on.”
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONALS
Thursday’s Results
Semifinals
Division I
Loyola d. Corona del Mar, 25-22, 25-16, 25-18
Mira Costa d. Torrey Pines, 25-16, 25-18, 25-18
Division II
St. Margaret’s d. San Clemente, 25-19, 27-25, 21-25, 25-20
Redondo Union d. Carlsbad, 25-19, 25-20, 30-28
Division III
La Costa Canyon d. Sage Creek, 19-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-19
West Ranch d. Mission Vista, 23-25, 25-21, 32-30, 25-17
Division IV
Arroyo Grande d. Foothills Christian, 24-26, 25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 18-16
Grant d. High Tech San Diego, 25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 20-25, 19-17
Saturday’s Schedule
(All matches at 6 p.m. unless noted)
Finals
Division I
#2 Mira Costa (37-4) at #1 Loyola (31-1-1)
Division II
#5 St. Margaret’s (34-4) at #2 Redondo Union (31-8)
Division III
#4 La Costa Canyon (17-19) at #2 West Ranch (27-11)
Division IV
#2 Grant (33-8-2) at #1 Arroyo Grande (21-12)
This July, there will be a lot of sports fans tapping back into their childhood.
Earlier this year, EA Sports announced that its College Football video game series will return this year after last being released in 2013.
On Thursday, the brand announced that the game will be available for play on July 19.
The EA Sports College Football 25 cover. (EA Sports)
This year’s video game features three athletes headlining the cover: Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Michigan’s Donovan Edwards, the latter of whom had two rushing touchdowns en route to winning the national championship.
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe and Carson Beck of Georgia can also be seen, as can Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins.
The series began in 1993 with the release of Bill Walsh College Football, and the game was released under the legendary coach’s name for two years.
The name changed to College Football USA for the 1996 and 1997 seasons before changing to NCAA Football from 1998 to 2014.
The game was on hiatus for a while due to disputes among EA, the NCAA and college athletes. Each installment since the 1997 version featured a cover athlete as video games normally do. However, the cover athlete wasn’t permitted to be paid for his image and likeness.
A shot of the College Football 25 cover. (EA Sports)
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Plus, in each installment, game players were unable to see the names of the athletes when controlling them. Instead, Reggie Bush, for example, would be listed as “HB No. 5” and Tim Tebow as “QB No. 15.”
But now, with name, image and likeness running rampant, game players will know exactly who is on the field, rather than just a position and number.
EA Sports announced a return of the game three years ago and even said a game would be released last summer, but it did not happen.
(Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
The last cover athlete was Denard Robinson of the Michigan Wolverines.
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