Huffington Post contributor is caught cheating in half-marathon after taking shortcut and using a bicycle

A Harvard-educated lifestyle blogger was caught cheating in the Fort Lauderdale A1A Half Marathon when an alert viewer found an incriminating photo of the runner after she faked finishing in second-place.

Jane Seo was disqualified after a race analyst, Derek Murphy, realized a picture of her watch did not match the total amount of miles included in the race.

Murphy found a photo of the smiling 24-year-old Huffington Post contributor after she just crossed the finish line, beaming proudly with her bogus second-place medal, he said in his analysis site, Marathoninvestigation.com.

He then zoomed into the picture to see Seo's Garmin GPS watch had been missing miles and figured the numbers just didn't match up. Seo didn't admit to the scam until the evidence was presented to her — but not before attending the awards ceremony to collect her second place trophy!

Seo had a total of 11.65 miles with a time of one hour, 22 minutes and seven seconds. About one and half miles were cut from her run which should have totaled 13.1 miles, Murphy said. The race investigator also analyzed her pace and found her results showed she had been running at a faster speed for the remaining 11 kilometers, when most runners begin to slow down.

As he further analyzed her time, Murphy said Seo cut the course about 3/4 of a mile from the turnaround meaning she cut a total of one and half. After the race Seo logged data into Strava, a mobile app for runners, which did not include any GPS data, Murphy wrote.

The deceitful Seo — who once wrote an article titled: How I Learned to Love Running, One Race at a Time — admitted to the fake news finish and said she covered her tracks by cycling the distance and submitted another entry that showed she completed the race. 

Seo has since then claimed she wasn't feeling well during the race, posted an apology to Instagram and deleted an account of her "run."

And the bike just happened to be conveniently placed there.

Man dies trying to complete Krispy Kreme Challenge

A man has died after starting a charity race in which contestants are also supposed to eat a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts midway through the 5-mile run.

What started as a tasty and fun way to raise money for a good cause took a turn for the worse when 58-year-old Jeff Woods dropped out of the race during the first mile Saturday morning complaining of chest pains. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Woods left the race before reaching the Krispy Kreme location halfway through the 5-mile course — where competitors eat a dozen of the glazed and sprinkled treats before completing the final 2½ miles to the finish line.

Way to go RT @NCState: It's madness in a good way at @krispykreme.Who's hungry?! #KrispyKremeChallenge pic.twitter.com/c8YJGXppZt

— krispykreme (@krispykreme) February 6, 2016

The annual race is organized by students at North Carolina State University and benefits the North Carolina Children’s Hospital. It’s in its 12th year.

R.I.P.

Hound dog goes for walk and finishes seventh in half-marathon (PHOTOS)

An Alabama hound dog turned doing her business into an hour-and-a-half chore — and even got a medal for it.

Two-and-a-half-year-old Ludivine snuck out of her backyard and made her way unnoticed to the starting area of the Trackless Train Trek Half Marathon in Elkmont, Alabama, about a quarter mile away from her home on Saturday.

And the unregistered runner kept up with the pack, finishing the race in seventh place. 

The dog, without her owner's knowledge, mingled with the participants at the start before keeping pace and finishing the entire 13.1-mile race. 

Ludivine crossed the finish line in an unofficial time of 1:32:56, placing seventh overall in the race. 

The floppy-eared pooch's owner, April Hamlin, told Runner's World that all she did was open the door and Ludivine — who is prone to roaming the woods and local town — ended up running the race "on her own accord."

Hamlin was able to watch the action as it unfolded because she received texts and photos from friends volunteering at the race.

And everyone around her farm knows Ludivine.

"My first reaction was that I was embarrassed and worried that she had possibly gotten in the way of the other runners."

The fact that Ludivine ran the entire 13.1 miles was surprising to her owner who said "she’s actually really lazy."

After all, she is a hound dog.

Tim Horvath said he ran most of the race with Ludivine, who kept up with him despite her several stops along the way to sniff out a dead rabbit, mingle with some mules and cows and meet with another dog near the course.

"She would run off to romp through streams and into yards to sniff around for a while," said Jim Clemens, another runner who finished the race in fourth place.

And to think Ludivine was in position to win the race — if only all those critters didn't distract her along the way.

Half-marathon runners go extra 4 miles due to re-routing error

A lot of runners in the Bangkok half-marathon had to be asking themselves more than usual, 'When is this race gonna end?' while thumping the pavement Sunday.

That's because instead of running the usual 13.1 miles, the participants had to run four extra miles after race officials, responsible for pointing the half-marathon runners in the right direction, inadvertently directed them "to make a U-turn at the wrong place," thus adding more than 1.8 miles to each of two laps.

The Jogging Association of Thailand, one of two organizers of the race, admitted to the error late Monday.

"It added more than 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) to each lap, therefore more than 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) were added to the whole half marathon," Surapong Ariyamongkol of the Athletic Association of Thailand said. "We have rebuked the association but we could not do anything else."

But the extra-winded runners were not amused: "The marathon's Facebook page filled with comments on Sunday and Monday from runners who called it 'ridiculous,' a 'massive miscalculation' and 'incredibly dangerous' for runners who had trained to run just 21 kilometers."

Look at the bright side angry runners, you just ran the world’s first — and probably last — 6/10 marathon ever.

And you will also get commemorative T-shirts.

Lone man shovels Boston Marathon finish line (PHOTO)

The nearly two feet of snow from Winter Storm Juno that piled up on New England Monday and Tuesday didn't stop one intrepid Bostonian from shoveling the Boston Marathon finish line and making sure it was visible. 

The lone shoveler, whose identity was unknown at first, has now been identified as Chris Laudani, who works as a bartender at Back Bay Social Club.

Help Boston solve a #BlizzardOf2015 mystery. #WhoShoveledTheFinishLine? #BostonStrong pic.twitter.com/1icgPcW9Vc
— Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) January 28, 2015

The rest of the 26-mile course, and particularly the sidewalks that line it, are likely to be under snow for some time. But, thanks to Laudani, at least the finish line, an important landmark in the city and running community, whose significance only increased after the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, is clear: Boston Strong.

“I only did it to send a message…I love the Boston Marathon and everything it stands for, the finish line doesn’t deserve to be covered in snow,” Laudani told Boston magazine.

#WhoShoveledTheFinishLine? Turns out he's a bartender on Boylston Street: http://t.co/eZtZbXusWJ pic.twitter.com/AbhzNfVG6M
— Runner's World (@runnersworld) January 28, 2015

The photographer, Charles Hillman, was staying at a local hotel when he noticed someone clearing the snow outside his window. He told Runner’s World Newswire that, after posting the image on his Twitter account, “I had no idea it would have this response.”

Chinese sports officials make typically oval running track rectangular to save time (PHOTOS)

Sport officials in China have built a rectangular running track because they were concerned they wouldn't get a typically oval one finished in time for a Communist Party inspection.

The squared-off quarter-mile track was constructed as a part of a major refurbishment of a 10,000 square foot stadium in Tonghe County in the north-eastern Heilongjiang province.

With the big-budget project running behind schedule and an inspection by notoriously finicky Communist Party officials imminent, managers made the decision to quite literally cut corners and create a running track with awkward 90-degree bends as they are easier to measure and lay out, reported the Daily Mail.

Outside of the glaring rectangle track in the middle, almost everything about the stadium is up to standard — from the the perfectly laid grass in the center of the sports field to the improved seating facilities for spectators.

Despite being the butt of many jokes, some experts have raised concerns about the design, saying the corner turns present a risk of serious injury to athletes.

One complaint is that it could cause career-threatening muscle damage when competitors hastily slow down to make the sharp turns, while another claims it increases the risk of head collisions.

"It’s impossible to run on such a surface," said Zhang Yong, a long distance runner, adding that the track was "an abomination" to his profession.

City cancels 'Sexy Schoolgirl' themed 5K run amid controversy: Report

A North Carolina race that encourages young women to dress like sexy schoolgirls was canceled by organizers, citing "community controversy."

Sexy Schoolgirl 5K race organizers told Raleigh city officials on Thursday they were canceling the race because of a growing backlash against the proposed charity run.

Young women dressed as sexy schoolgirls are seen in several images on the group's social media pages. The photos include captions like "I don't sweat, I sparkle'"and "Friends don't let friends run sexy alone."

The group's website also encourages participants to "pull up those knee socks, strap on those suspenders, and come join the fun!"

The coed races, which do not have a strict dress code, are also normally followed by a pub crawl. Nothing out of the ordinary for a lot of 5 and 10K races. Race participants must be 18 and older. 

Former Raleigh police captain Paula O'Neal criticized the race to town council members, according to the News & Observer of Raleigh.

"I question the message that is being sent and endorsed by the City of Raleigh due to the increasing problem of rape and violence against girls in the schools and on college campuses,'"said O'Neal.

Other factors in the race's cancellation include "a lack of early sign-ups and inadequate organization," the newspaper said.

The group's website says it partnered with the MATHCOUNTS Foundation, which offers mathematics programs and competitions for middle schoolers.

MATHCOUNTS, however, said in a statement that it distanced itself from the Sexy Schoolgirl 5K race after it was "made aware of some of the materials that were designed by the race organizers to promote the race."

The group's website says races are planned for Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Tampa Bay, Florida.

Either way, the schoolgirls' controversy allows us to show track and field's sexiest star Michelle Jenneke for a comparison.

Pamela Anderson rests in bed after running New York City Marathon

Pamela Anderson showed off her post-marathon therapy after running the New York City Marathon on Sunday, with a Twitter photo simply captioned "Ouch!"

The 46 year-old former "Baywatch" beauty joined almost 50,000 other runners in this year's event but needed a little post-race resuscitation after finishing in 5 hours and 41 minutes. 

Ouch! pic.twitter.com/jM2kpkzWXW
— Pamela Anderson (@PamelaDAnderson) November 3, 2013

Anderson ran the five-borough-wide race with her brother Gerry, helping to meet the goal of raising $76,000 for the J/P Haitian Relief Organization, according to People magazine.

Mission accomplished, but she clearly needed a comfortable bed and several ice packs after her daunting feat.

"Thank you New York City!" she tweeted, with a photo showing off her Road Runners medallion.

San Francisco directs marathon noise complaints to phone sex line

Residents who tried to complain about noise from a San Francisco marathon Sunday morning got an earful of sexy talk instead.

When they called the city's 311 hotline to complain about Sunday's Nike Women's Marathon, they were incorrectly directed to a phone sex line.

People fed up with 30,000 runners mingling around, the music and loud announcements — starting at 5:30 a.m. — called the city’s 311 line, which kindly asked residents to instead call 1-800-RUN-NIKE, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The only problem? That’s not the Nike Women’s Marathon number. That’s a woman telling callers to "unzip that fly, baby."

That phone number belongs to a Pennsylvania-based phone sex company called Lust, which probably isn’t what  residents were looking for after being unexpectedly awoken hours before sunrise.

City officials now say they were given the wrong number and are investigating how the mix-up occurred.

The phone sex number and marathon number differed only in their prefix: 800 versus 866.

311 Director Nancy Alfaro says the wrong number was given out for about a half hour before city officials were alerted. It's not clear how many people were misdirected.

Regardless, the 10th anniversary of the San Francisco race was deemed a success, and raised millions for cancer research. The phone line raised other things.

NYC Marathon considering alternate starting area due to government shutdown

The government shutdown could mean a change to the starting line for the New York City Marathon.

That's because the usual staging site is the federally operated Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island. Fort Wadsworth is part of Gateway National Recreation Area controlled by the National Parks Service.

Organizers of the Nov. 3 race say they are working with city, state and federal officials to come up with an alternate site if the shutdown continues.

They declined to say which site or sites they are considering but said it would remain on Staten Island. More than 45,000 runners will participate in this year's 26.2-mile run.

The marathon was canceled last year because of Superstorm Sandy. Additional security is planned for this year's event after twin bombing at the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured more than 260.

Spectator upstages world record marathon runner at finish line (VIDEO)

Look for the guy in the yellow shirt. When Kenyan Wilson Kipsang broke the marathon world record by 15 seconds (2:03:23) — as he crossed the finish line at the Berlin Marathon on Sunday — his moment of glory was taken away by some self-promoting jerk who jumped in front of the runner and broke the tape.

This clip explains it all. This moron turned what should have been an amazing moment for Kipsang into a Look at Me Mommy joke. And, to make the scene a little more sleazy, the intruder used the occasion to promote a website that connects prostitutes with "gentlemen with high demands."

Congratulations to Wilson on breaking the world record. And to the d-bag in the yellow shirt — I still didn't get that web address.

Runners stage unofficial NYC marathon in Central Park

The ING New York City Marathon may have been cancelled but that didn't stop nearly 2,000 of the 47,000 registered runners from staging their own race through Central Park on Sunday morning.

The unofficial run was organized on Facebook on Saturday afternoon by a couple of friends who had spent months fundraising to run for the ALS Foundation and wanted to finish what they had started.

The "Run Anyway New York City Marathon" had 1,700 fans on Facebook and organized a donation drop-off for the Hurricane Sandy relief at the original marathon's finish line at the old Tavern on the Green site.

Generators sat idle while the tents and supplies that caused the run or not to run ING NYC Marathon so much controversy over the past few days were stacked on the side of the road. Today's runners brought their own water.

If only Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York Road Runners had the foresight to call off the "real" marathon earlier in the week, alternative grassroots runs like this could have been organized as well.

The overall sentiment among the runners was that the race needed to be cancelled due to the storm, but not at the eleventh hour.

Runners from all over the world — many wearing their orange NYC Marathon shirts and bibs — met at 8 a.m. inside Central Park and ran four laps around the Manhattan landmark's oval — nearly equivalent to the marathon's 26.2 mile course.  Call it old school.  The first NYC Marathon was run on the same course.

Spectators showed up waving pompoms, clanging cowbells and cheering on the runners from the leftover bleachers.

Now some of the once disappointed participants can say they ran the NYC Marathon — sort of.

NYC politician calls mayor's refusal to cancel marathon 'idiotic'

The number of New Yorkers calling for Mayor Michael Bloomberg to call off Sunday's ING New York City Marathon in the wake of Hurricane Sandy is growing.

Staten Island,  one of the hardest hit areas in New York City and the starting point for the 26.2-mile race, is still cleaning up their storm-ravaged neighborhoods and the anger in the crippled borough is so high, a local councilman has called the mayor's refusal to call off the race "idiotic" on his Facebook page.

"The notion of diverting even one police officer, one first responder, one asset away from this carnage is beyond irrational," Councilman James Oddo told The New York Daily News.

Staten Island is the scene of some of the most tragic stories and images to come out of the devastating storm.  Just yesterday, two young brothers' bodies were found, after they were swept away from their mother, and numerous photos of trapped residents being rescued from their homes on the South Shore were all over the news.  Residents are still pleading for help from the city.

The thought of tents, food, water and generator-supplied power catering to the perky 47,000 runners at the marathon's starting line — while despondent people go cold, wet and without power nearby — is just one reason Staten Island residents are joining a "Boycott the 2012 NYC Marathon."

Bloomberg, meanwhile, held firm on holding the race.

"This city is a city where we have to go on."

"Keep in mind by Sunday we'll have electricity back downtown," he said.  "That will free up an enormous number of police.  Also, a lot of the transportation needs that we have during the week aren't there on the weekends."

A lot of the registered participants, who have trained for the race, are having second thoughts about running through a course with a backdrop of destruction and despair.

The New York Road Runners Facebook page has been filling up with requests to cancel this year's race — or at least postpone it.

The NYRRC has promised to donate $1 million to the Sandy relief.

Ironically, the runners will begin their run with a carnival-like start at the entrance to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, then jog forward into Brooklyn leaving their disposable clothing and empty water bottles amongst the destruction Sandy left behind.

Maybe some will look back over their shoulders.