WHEN Paddy Patterson was unable to run the D33 ultramarathon in Aberdeen last weekend, he passed the bib with his number on to his friend, Neil Kennedy.
If his replacement had just been a little bit slower then it’s likely nobody would have noticed or cared, but the Glasgow Life employee managed the 33-mile-long race in a quick enough time to be named the third fastest male veteran.
The problem for Kennedy is that he’s not old enough to be a veteran. Now governing body Scottish Athletics are probing the affair, and the runner faces a ban from races all over Scotland.
He was caught out when he took to the popular Running Friends Scotland Facebook Group to boast of his win: “Sorry Paddy if you do it next year you need to defend your title.”
That infuriated fellow runners, including Dod Weir, who organises the D33 Ultra. He said it was about safety as much as the stolen prize.
“I will see to it that you are both banned from any future Scottish Athletics events. You have stolen a place from the rightful winner and put runners safety at risk,” he wrote.
“You both are no longer welcome within the Scottish Ultra Scene. I will make sure the rightful winner receives his prize. You will be removed from the D33 results.”
Weir explained to The National that if anything had happened to Kennedy during his run, the medical information and the emergency next of kin details on file would have been Patterson’s: “That leaves the race director in a very vulnerable position,” Weir said. “It’s not something we can allow to happen.”
Bib swapping is not uncommon in large events, with runners who cannot make a race passing their number on to someone else, rather than see it go to waste.
While some races allow the exchange, it’s almost always with the strict understanding that organisers are made aware of the swap.
Scottish Athletics said they were aware of the complaint and had launched an inquiry.
Kennedy declined to comment.
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