England Athletics investigation finds no intention to deceive by prominent running journalist

Journalist Kate Carter has been cleared by England Athletics of any attempt to deliberately cheat during two high-profile running events last year.

The 47-year-old, an amateur athlete who is a prominent face in the running community and holds the world record for the fastest marathon by a woman in an animal costume, had come under suspicion when she was accused last month of entering a fake time at the London Marathon and alleged course cutting at the London Landmarks Half Marathon.

However, following an investigation into the claims, England Athletics (EA) found there was no intention to deceive and no attempt to benefit from the results.

A spokesperson for the governing body said: England Athletics received information relating to alleged cheating by an EA-licenced athlete in two events during 2023. A thorough investigation into both incidents has been carried out, the results of which have found there was no intention to deceive and no attempt to benefit from the results.

As such, neither of these incidents meet the EA threshold for serious misconduct. In athletics as with all sports integrity is vital. EA welcomes the opportunity to scrutinise where there are concerns, and to put every adequate resource into arriving at the correct outcome.

Out of respect for the individuals involved, we will be releasing no further details of this investigation.

American blogger Derek Murphy had published the allegations, which claimed there was no evidence to show Carter had run the entire London Marathon and that she may have used software to manually create GPS data based on a course map that was four years out of date. The second claim alleged there was no record of her having taken part in a substantial section of the London Landmarks event.

Carter subsequently denied any wrongdoing, stating: I am not a cheat. I made some stupid mistakes.

At the London Marathon she decided not to run with a chip as she felt she wasnt in good form and didnt want an official time.

However, she later decided to take a personal record of the run and used her account with the physical activity tracker app Strava to draw a map of her run. Having later realised the map was inaccurate, she removed the post.

At the London Landmarks Half Marathon, which is used by thousands of runners as a preparation event for the full marathon, Carter had to leave the course.

I very unfortunately wet myself, she said. I was completely mortified for this to be happening to me in public and I was desperate to get off the course and sort myself out. The overwhelming feeling was one of acute embarrassment but I was also worried about being photographed.

It transpired that Carter, who has been Acting Commissioning Editor at Runners World magazine since 2022, had not rejoined the race at exactly the same point, while she also insists her GPS watch died.

In a statement regarding England Athletics findings she said: A thorough investigation by England Athletics has cleared me of online allegations that I cheated at the London Marathon and London Landmarks races in 2023. The governing body has also confirmed that they will not take any action against me. After reaching out to England Athletics, they also shared more details of their investigation, which they have allowed me to make public.

EA told me that their investigators found that I did run last years London Marathon without a timing chip, as I have always said. In their response to me they added: London Marathon have confirmed that this is allowed, and you did not break any rules. You did not attempt to deceive anybody, and the only record is the one you created on your personal Strava page. There is no breach of the Senior Athlete or Licensed Coaches Code of Conduct.

To reiterate: I am not a cheat. And I have never cheated. I ran without a timing chip as I thought I would perform poorly, and I didnt get a time. I then attempted to draw the run on my Strava so my miles counted to monthly total. This was not an attempt to mislead or cheat it was simply a post on my personal Strava social media account.

At the London Landmarks race, I stepped off the course after wetting myself in a bid to find a bin and clean myself up. This was a hugely embarrassing moment, and I accept that I then inadvertently re-entered the race in a different spot. However, England Athletics have now told me that, after speaking to organisers who have also provided details of my timing chip, they have ruled that: This was not a deliberate act of deception, and you did not gain any benefit or win anything as result.

I will have more to say in the future about the damage these allegations have done to my reputation, as well as my mental and physical health. Running was a big part of my identity. Having been cleared, I really hope to find that joy again.

I would like to thank England Athletics for their diligence. And to London Landmarks, who have sent me a lovely message of support and invited me to run this years race.