As I write this (wearing my Running Mann hat) I can tell you (wearing my board hat) that there are 91 reported cases of bib banditting in the Two Oceans half marathon and four in the ultra marathon. I am sure that there are some more that haven’t been uncovered – yet – but the overall number is likely somewhere between 100 and 200.
This is still a tiny fraction of the overall field. Most people follow the rules and abhor those that don’t. If you banditted you are in the minority. This is not a case where everyone is doing it. There will always be one or two people who “didn’t know I was doing anything wrong” but the majority of those who banditted (and those who defend the bandits) are consciously delinquent.
There have been some high profile cases of bib banditting internationally but after this Two Oceans half marathon, Luke Jacobs and Nic Bradfield exploded onto the scene after finishing 7th and 10th in the women’s race respectively and put the problem into the spotlight. So what is the problem with bib banditting and what can be done to prevent it?
READ MORE: Two Oceans 2026: Two Top 10 “Ladies” Disqualified as Topless Photos Emerge Online
Cheating Others out of their Rightful Places
The impact on Karin-Mari Dötze of men running in women’s race numbers has been well documented. Dötze thought she’d been relegated from 10th to 12th and had the best day of her running career ruined by the aforementioned morons. However, the impacts are often more subtle and not as noticeable.
READ MORE: Karin-Mari’s Story (How Two Morons Stole her Special Moment)
There are many other victims. Take for example Janene Carey, a competitive 50+ lady who runs for the Boxer Superstores team. In 2025 she thought she’d won the Masters Category at the Cape Town Marathon 10k Peace Run only to find out that an unknown entity, Karlene MacMinn, was the official winner.
After her initial enquiry was brushed aside by the organisers, Janene and her fellow competitors, kept pursuing an official answer from the race office. Due to their persistence, Karlene MacMinn admitted that someone else had run in her race number. However, this was another magic moment ruined by the ‘victimless’ crime of bib banditting – not to mention the time, trouble and frustration that Carey had to go into to get what was rightfully hers.
Incidentally, Carey crossed the line as first 50+ lady at this year’s Two Oceans half marathon but instead of savouring her victory said, “I held my breath, wondering if the same may happen.”
After this year’s event, I was investigating a serial cheat who bragged of running a fast time as a “64-year-old woman” at Two Oceans 2025 (he banditted again in 2026 and is on the official disciplinary list). It looks like our young male granny was in-fact removed from the results last year but a quick investigation shows that the 3rd placed grandmaster lady in 2025, Wandra Marais, is in fact a dude. I would assume that the real 3rd place finisher, Annatjie Botes from Nedbank SWD, missed out on her podium and prize money.
Sometimes, it’s not about the podiums or prize money but just plain old simple pride. This year’s 10th placed 50+ man in the Two Oceans half marathon is either using some kickass night cream or his balls have only very recently dropped (actually it’s also possible that neither may be true). Likewise, either ActionPhoto are using a very powerful wrinkle filter or the or the 11th placed Master is another cheat (he also folded his bib over to hide the age tag in further subterfuge).
Someone needs to tell Lentikile Kgaswane that he can brag to his friends and family about getting a Top 10 age category finish in the largest and richest half marathon in the country. I don’t know if the little-known Madibogo Running Club have ever had a Top 10 Two Oceans finisher before but this was another celebratory moment denied. Unfortunately, like Karin-Mari Dötze, Lentikile Kgaswane still thinks he finished 12th.
The Medical Reasons
A few years ago a runner collapsed on the finish line at Two Oceans. They were rushed to the medical tent and were about to be given medication that would have killed them. Fortunately the collapsed bandit came around just in time to refuse the medication. It could easily have been very different.
I’ve spoken to many race organisers over the years and they all agree that the absolute worst thing that can happen is to have someone die at your event. A preventable death would be even worse. On top of that there is the lifelong trauma and regret for the person that administered the lethal dosage.
At a recent WPA road race, a runner did pass away during the event. The runner was banditting and the wrong family was phoned and informed that their relative had died. That’s a pretty shit experience all round. Not to mention that the organisers now have to play detective to try and determine whose corpse they have in front of them.
Inspirational and vocal athlete, Lee-Ann Elliot, recently shared this personal context on a post highlighting the dangers of banditting, “Say someone ran under my bib and something happened, emergency responders would administer insulin meant for a T1 diabetic (potentially lethal for non-diabetics) and as I am a recovered heroin addict I have a note to not give me opiates/pain medication.”
Here’s another account from running legend Kim Pain (who was engaging with me to put out an educational message about the dangers of banditting to Jeppe AC), “Years ago at the Dis-Chem 21km a Jeppe member took someone else’s number and didn’t substitute into his name and collapsed at the finish. I was doing a triathlon in Germiston and when I finished my phone was congested with messages and phone calls coming through. The Jeppe runner was aggressive with the medics pulling out the drips and they were trying to contact family. Thank goodness I managed to get onto it but to make matters worse his wife was in Botswana so I needed to get hold of other family members and friends.”
After the disastrous 2025 event courtesy of Cavanagh and Cronies, combined with several years of maladministration, this year’s Two Oceans was officially on probation with the City of Cape Town. At one stage it was touch and go whether we’d be having a 2026 event at all.
Let’s take a worst case scenario, it’s a bad weather day and medical issues are higher than normal. The medical team are already under strain. The previous evening, some dickhead decides to run in his buddies’ number in a beer fuelled bout of brashness around the braai. He starts undertrained, overconfident and with a massive hangover*. There is pride and ego at stake as he stands to win a bet for a case of beer and keep the party going if he finishes under 2 hours. He’s on track until he collapses metres from the finish line with a heart attack. The medical team rush to resuscitate Richard Head. They save his life but sadly it’s at the expense of another legitimate runner who doesn’t get quick enough attention after suffering from heat exhaustion.
* Although the half marathon male / female split is roughly 50 / 50, I would estimate that over 90% of the banditting is done by men. One wonders how many of these are last-minute testosterone fuelled decisions that, once again, just places more risk and strain on the medical team.
Another runner, Mr R Sole dies and it turns out that he too was running in a banditted bid. The press gets hold of the story: This is a pattern! How did this happen? Where are the controls? Someone must pay! The organisers are negligent! The City is sick of giving last chances to the problem child of Cape eventing. Till death do us part… Misters Richard Head and R Sole have the final say. Bye-bye Two Oceans.
Organisational & Logistical Reasons
An event like the Two Oceans keeps a diligent “ship’s log” of all voyages. In addition, those who complete 10 finishes earn a coveted Blue Number which comes with a raft of privileges and personal accolades. Banditting makes a mess of the rich history and record keeping at Two Oceans. It damages the integrity of the race and takes away from the achievements of others.
I’m sure that there are some people who are happy to claim an honour that they have not earned. These are the same kind of people that defend bandits and banditting with “Yes, buts…”. The kind of people who prefer to gaslight and deflect rather than take accountability. None of those people deserve to own a Blue Number.
There was one cretin who got someone else to run his 9th Two Oceans ultra last year. This was reported but sadly Cavanagh and Cronies did not take any action against this or other blatant cheating at the 2025 event (it was only when the new board was formed after the AGM that 2025 cheating was addressed). This year Mr. Cretin ran his alleged “10th” ultra marathon – there is a photo of him proudly holding up his Blue Number on the UCT grounds like a chump.
READ MORE: No More Free Passes: Inside Two Oceans’ New Stance on Cheating
Fortunately his running club (and massive credit to them) let myself and the race office know what had transpired. Mr. Cretin is a disgrace to all the men and women who’ve legitimately earned their Blue Numbers. The Two Oceans office are currently in the process of trying to get that Blue Number back*.
* If you’re wondering why this cretin has not been named and shamed, I have a very distinct line between Running Mann the blogger and Stuart Mann the board member. If something is sent to me directly (which well over 90% of the cheating allegations have been) then it’s fair game for Running Mann content. If something is sent directly to the Two Oceans office (or to both the office and myself) then I treat it as proprietary and not for publication without explicit approval.
On top of this, bib bandits cause massive unnecessary headaches for both the board and staff members to sort out various issues like those mentioned above. This time could be much better spent on tasks that would actually improve the race and serve the runners.
There are some other less sexy but no less important risks and impacts here like the impact to insurance and liability protection (and future costs), overall event and result integrity, course safety and athlete flow, and protections against scamming and fraudsters.
It’s Just Plain Wrong
Maybe I should have led with this: Bib banditting reeks of entitlement. You are not special. Just because you went to a private school and / or have a few thousand Instagram Followers (this seems to be the social media platform of choice for cheats and their acolytes) and / or had parents who didn’t teach you right from wrong does not mean that you are more special than the 99% of people who accept and follow the rules.
It is wrong to run in someone else’s number. It is against the rules. This is well and clearly communicated. If you chastise the corruption of our politicians but conveniently carry on in your own private corruption you are part of the problem.
The traffic lights may be out and you’re late for a meeting but do you drive in the yellow line because your time is more important than everyone else’s? It’s a simple question of integrity.
If you want to colour outside the lines, do so in your own drawing book. If you don’t like the house rules, don’t run races whose rules you disagree with. The justification from some quarters for banditting is a bit like bringing a bottle of vodka to a Muslim wedding and then complaining about the unfairness of the system when you are publicly called out for it.
Take Accountability, Don’t Blame the System
I am always interested in the response to plain old home truths and facts. Luke Jacobs is an admitted cheat. In fact he is a serial bandit – there is clear evidence of him banditting at Two Oceans 2025 and he finished in the Top 30 ladies at the 2023 Gun Run. He also works within the running and eventing industry. He knew what he was doing was wrong and he did it anyway. Likewise Morgan Newman committed fraud by replacing the “Lindsay” with “Morgan” on his bib and he is also a repeat offender.
View More: “Your Boy” Morgan Newman gives what is perhaps the most insincere apology in the history of “I’m sorry I got caught” insincere apologies: https://www.instagram.com/p/DXv2trAqHAw/
And yet there is very little accountability from their close personal friends, training partners and run crew tribe. Instead they’ve chosen the Trumpian gaslight and deflect defense mechanism mode. A predictable but a sad indictment on the guilty and their close associates.
READ MORE: Good Hope DJ & former Stormer is latest BrahGate Bandit
There is the supply and demand “but I just wanted to run” argument. If all the parking bays are full, do you park in the handicapped space?
It is just not fair to the 99% of law and rule abiding runners that the tiny, vocal minority continues to flagrantly break the rules because of their own entitlement. Don’t blame the system for your own wonky moral compass.
Yes, it would be great if you could do substitutions at the expo. But you couldn’t in 2026. There are good reasons for that. Cape Town Marathon is not offering substitutions at all in 2026 – does that make banditting all right at CTM this year? I have my doubts whether the Luke Jacobs and Morgan Newmans of the world would stoop to lowering themselves to stand in line at an expo to get a legitimate race number.
Expo (or as late as possible) substitutions should reduce the problem but it will not eradicate entitilism. Personally, I would charge an ‘expo substitution surcharge’ that would go directly to charity so that anyone who still chooses to bandit would have to answer to the social stigma of “stealing from charity.”
Likewise having different colour race numbers for gender will not magically solve this problem. Age categories are clearly indicated on the tags but, as already mentioned in this article, you still get wrinkle-free 60 year olds barreling up Southern Cross Drive with reckless abandon. As has been pointed out to me privately by several members of the LGBT+ community, “solving” this problem by making gender easily identifiable on the bibs may create another bigger problem for an already marginalised minority*.
* Another sad indictment in this polarised age is that we can no longer display country names on the race tracking app or flags on the bibs due to the organised victimisation of runners from certain countries.
Other Solutions & Deterrents
For his own self-actualisation, tech guru Francois Botha is busy building and training an AI model to detect gender disparity from photographs and race numbers. It is already more than 90% accurate. Once this is done it can relatively easily be trained to pick up age disparities.
The good old name and shame method is still a viable option and a powerful disincentive to cheating. I remember doing a mandatory corporate ethics training course many years ago where one of the points that stuck with me was, “If your friends and family read about this in the news what would they say?” I am a firm believer in name and shame and will continue to write about and expose those who taint the great sport of running with their cheating and dishonesty.
There are also a lot of basic statistical methods that can (and have) been used to detect cheating. Like a good magician, I won’t give up any of my tricks here but I think a good 60%+ of banditting can be picked up with simple algorithmic work.
Speak up: I get a lot of tip offs from club mates and acquaintances of cheats. Keep our community honest. If you know someone has cheated or ‘special favoured’ themselves, report it. In the past nothing has been done but there is now a zero tolerance policy for cheating at Two Oceans and Comrades. I am sure several other major events will (or already have) followed.
Likewise, if someone offers or asks for an entry for a sold out event – call them out on it*. Let’s bring morals, ethics and integrity back – and call out those who think the rules don’t apply to them, no matter how charismatic or popular they are.
* And kudos to Demitri, moderator of the Cape Town Runners Community Facebook Group, who recently announced that anyone guilty of this would be banned from the group, no questions asked.
Education: I personally don’t think general education works very well. It’s necessary but I suspect the only people who read posts and articles imploring people to “Run Honest” are those who are already following the rules. It’s impossible to make something totally idiot-proof as they just keep producing better idiots. It’s a bit like having to put labels on cups saying, “Caution: Coffee may be hot.”
What I do think works is direct, on the spot education.
As an example many years ago on the Fourways Road Runners WhatsApp group, someone popped a message to try and get a last minute sub to a sold out race. One of our senior members took the time to deliver some “education” about why this was wrong and that running in an illegal number could also bring the club into disrepute. The message was well received, disseminated throughout the club and I have never seen the same question being asked again – despite a regular influx of new members.
At Two Oceans, bib banditting is far rarer on the ultra (where one has to be a licensed club athlete) than on the half marathon, where the vast majority of banditting occurs from unlicensed athletes. Therefore, another consideration is give preference to licensed athletes and only allow unlicensed athletes to enter the half marathon if the allocation is not pre-filled by licensed athletes.
What Happens Next?
So far as the Two Oceans process goes, that is clear cut. There is a formal disciplinary process that is followed for every allegation of cheating. Every alleged cheat is contacted and given the opportunity to dispute the allegation and / or provide mitigating evidence.
All disputes are referred to the Disciplinary Sub Committee (SC) for a decision which, as freely disclosed previously, I chair*. Likewise, all uncontested allegations are discussed. The maximum sanction possible in the Two Oceans Marathon rules are a disqualification from the event and a two year ban. Based on the decisions the SC took in disciplining 2025 cheats, I would expect that this would be the sanction for most of the confirmed cheats.
* So to answer a FAQ I’ve received, “Who made you the f$%^en running police?” In the context of Two Oceans, the Two Oceans Marathon NPC board did.
The next big test will come at the Cape Town Marathon. As previously discussed, there are wise old heads in most running clubs who police themselves*. Certain running crews have been very vocal in deflecting the attention from their prominent run crew members’ transgressions and have been lamenting the missed opportunity for “educational moments”.
* Having said that, I am investigating two separate cases of cheating, one involving the president and other the chair, of a running club.
Let’s hope these same run crews put their money where their mouth is and take the time and trouble to educate their members of the morals, ethics and dangers of bib banditting. It’s not what you say but what you do that counts. Actions speak louder than words.
To conclude on a personal note, I would love to start shifting attention to other topics. I’d love to start doing some stats. There are inspirational stories waiting to be written and humorous race reports from all around our beautiful country to share. But duty calls and if there are special children out there who still feel that the rules don’t apply to them, my inbox is always open.
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Very well said Stuart. I had to earn my Blue Number fairly and squarely.
What you wrote about people complaining about corruption in this country, but not behaving morally themselves is spot on. Every day we all need to look at our actions and discern whether we are working to make SA a more honest society, none of us is exempt.
There were a few people in the 21km running near me who said they ran the ultra the day before. How is that allowed that they can enter both when there are so many who missed out on entries for the 21km?
Agree!
A few years ago I bought an entry to a race in CT. A few days before, I had to fly to Jhb, and realized I would be missing the race. I offered my entry up for substitution and provided my details for them to do it at race pack collection. The friend who gave my entry to her friend decided it wasn’t necessary to do the substitution. This nearly cost me my job.
At work, we have Discovery medical aid, plus Vitality, as well as our Group Life Cover. I bought my plane tickets and got the Vitality discount. I entered my medical aid details when I did the online entry for the race. And once the bib bandit crossed the finish line as me, I got the official time SMS and the Vitality points. I was very upset to discover my entry was not subbed at all. Once I got back home and at work the Monday, I had a chat with my boss. He was very much into running in his younger days, so he was always coming to my office on a Monday and asking how the weekend went, how my running times have improved etc. Anyway, so after telling him what happened, he got quiet and then told me to sort it out very quickly. If Discovery Vitality put two and two together, see that I was confirmed to be in Jhb, but had an official finish time of a race in CT, and I got kicked off the Discovery cover, unfortunately it would also end my employment as it’s in my contract.
I spent the better part of that week having to call and then write my statement to Discovery. Once my Vitality points were rescinded and they provided emailed confirmation that I was not involved in any bib swapping, I had to show that to my boss. He sat me down in his office and said that if we let the rules slide for something seemingly insignificant, then we will expect the same for the important things too. I will never forget how I barely slept that week, all because of someone thinking it’s fine to do what they did. It was “just” a 10km race, but someone’s poor judgement nearly cost me my job.
What makes you think men are 90% of bandits? I used to live in NYC, and many of the races are hard to get into because of the size limits, and because many of those are part of local NYC Marathon qualification. In the running club group chat I was in, there was quite the mix of genders looking for bibs well in advance of the race so that they could participate. (I will say that one woman sticks out in my mind as a group leader who had taken a couple bibs but also had to stop people asking for bibs because NYRR was cracking down on selling/swapping bibs…)
It’s probably proportionate to the field with people predominantly asking friends of the same gender.
I will say that men are positioned to be the most disruptive bandits because they’re often faster than women – one comes to mind (can’t find the post) where a young man won an older women’s division and bumped down a former marathon champion.
I despise banditting… Regardless of gender or category.
Can I ask… what’s the situation with a biological male who identifies as transwoman and then enters and runs in the female category? As a general question, but then also specifically if they end up placing in their entered category? I’m assuming World Athletics rules are applies.
My wife filled in a doctors form recently that asked her gender given at birth
And I think this will solve many problems in sport, I am more tolerant than most but I think this seperates a clear distinction in sport, you can identify as what ever you choose but if you choose to enter a sport other than dressage, show jumping, eventing or sailing that has gender as a category then gender given at birth is the correct classification.
In the days when I was running in the Two Oceans Marathon, bib banditting was probably quite rare because the event attracted a much smaller field, and there wasn’t the technology in those days to scan faces and numbers. There was one well publicised incident though, which took everyone by surprise. It may have been more common, but we will never know.
I fully concur with your well written and well reasoned article, and trust that with the help of improved technically and whistleblowers all forms of cheating will be called out. It won’t stop them from trying though.
Pretty sure the number for TTOM half is way higher than 200, but I don’t know the levels you’ve gone to check. The race sells out in a week and this is over 6 months before race day – closing subs 44 days before the date just creates demand to bib bandit – I look forward to easier subs solving part of this problem.
It’s obviously quite easy to inspect the top100 ladies for men, but there’s clearly a bigger risk getting called out running in a ladies name with hairy calves. It figures there would be many male=>male bandits because it’s harder to get caught.
AI tool is a good idea, Actionphotos (and others) have a record of photos going back years and you could do way more than just looking at gender. Race results also build up a solid database – can’t be that hard to brute force all the data to look for some outliers (ie. someone averaging a 2:15 half has a 1:40 under their name).
Is there the desire to look retrospectively through this?, it’s ultimately ASA’s issue but they won’t do it,
Two points.
1. Your suggestion, to first allocate Two Oceans half marathon entries to running club members – thereafter to non-club members, is a great suggestion.
This will encourage more runners to join running clubs, which are the backbone of our country’s road running sport.
(Yes – I know some will object and will list numerous reasons why the suggestion should not happen.)
2. Question – what happens to a bib bandit who has served his/her two-year ban – then returns to the race and commits the same offence again?
Will it be a further two-year ban, or a life-time ban?
There is currently no provision for a life ban in the TOM rules but it is something that may well be looked at.
Very well written article, and yet people still do it.. They don’t want to “waste” the entry…