A top British ultramarathon runner who was disqualified from a race after using a car has said she made a “massive error”.
Joasia Zakrzewski, from Dumfries, Scotland, finished third in the 2023 GB Ultras Manchester to Liverpool 50-mile race - but GPS data appeared to show her using a car for 2.5 miles of it.
The 47-year-old GP, who now lives in Australia, said her actions were “not malicious” and that it was a miscommunication.
Speaking to the BBC, she said she got lost on the course around half-way with an injured leg, meaning she accepted a lift from a friend at the side of the course to the next checkpoint to tell marshals she was pulling out of the race.
“When I got to the checkpoint I told them I was pulling out and that I had been in the car, and they said 'you will hate yourself if you stop',” Dr Zakrzewski said.
“I agreed to carry on in a non-competitive way.”
However, when she crossed the finish line on April 7 she was awarded third place and posed for photos.
A report was lodged with Wayne Drinkwater, the director of the GB Ultras race, that a runner had gained an “unsporting, competitive advantage” during the race.
Dr Zakrzewski said she made a “massive error” in accepting the trophy because of her tiredness and illness, and that she had not meant to deprive Mel Sykers, the runner who was eventually awarded third place, of her spot.
“I hold my hands up, I should have handed them back and not had pictures done but I was feeling unwell and spaced out and not thinking clearly,” she told the broadcaster.
“I'm an idiot and want to apologise to Mel. It wasn't malicious, it was miscommunication. I would never purposefully cheat and this was not a target race, but I don't want to make excuses.”
The incident was earlier referred to the sport’s regulating body, Athletics UK, and to the Trail
Ms Zakrzewski is a leading ultramarathon runner, having won the Taipei Ultramarathon in Taiwan in February outright - setting a world record across 255 miles.
She has previously represented Team Scotland in the marathon at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
She has set a number of records including the Scottish 24-hour record, the British 200k and the Scottish 100 miles record.
