A marathon can punish even the best-laid plans. But when the going gets tough, there is one shortcut runners know they cannot take – a bicycle.

That is exactly what turned a celebrated Berlin Marathon finish into a controversy for Chinese fitness influencer Abeeeer. After initially presenting her 4:53:46 result as a personal best, the 530,000-follower creator found herself under scrutiny when a photograph surfaced showing her on a bicycle late in the race.
The picture alone raised questions. Then the timing data made the story even harder to explain.

Abeeeer was photographed near the 38-kilometer point of the September 27 race, according to the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU), an account that investigates questionable race performances. What caught investigators’ attention was the timing of her fastest five-kilometer stretch.

Between 35K and 40K, she recorded 30 minutes and 49 seconds – her quickest split of the marathon. Her previous five-kilometer segment, from 30K to 35K, took 36 minutes and 51 seconds. The sudden improvement came during the same portion of the course where the photograph reportedly showed her getting a ride.

For a runner approaching the brutal final kilometers of a marathon, a late surge is possible. But this one came with a very noticeable difference: wheels.

The controversy spread quickly online, and Abeeeer eventually acknowledged what happened. On October 3, she apologized and admitted that riding the bicycle violated the race rules. She also accepted responsibility for concealing the incident when she later shared her marathon experience with followers.

Her explanation did not try to shift the blame. Abeeeer acknowledged that she had felt unwell during the race but said that could not justify breaking the rules. She also admitted that hiding the bicycle ride from her post-race updates was dishonest and went against the spirit of fair competition.

She subsequently removed marathon-related posts from her RedNote account, known locally as Xiaohongshu.

The timing discrepancy had already given the internet plenty to dissect.
OMTIU highlighted the unusual split after the photograph began circulating, turning what might have remained a private race incident into a public discussion about credibility in the age of fitness influencers. The account regularly examines questionable race claims, particularly when posted performances do not align with official race data.

And this time, the scrutiny did not stop with the athlete.

Brooks China cuts ties after influencer’s marathon controversy

Abeeeer’s relationship with Brooks China quickly became another casualty of the controversy. The running brand had partnered with her ahead of the Berlin Marathon and provided equipment for the race.

But after reviewing the incident, Brooks China acknowledged that its own post-race checks had not gone far enough. The company said it had verified the finishing result and the content supplied by the influencer but had failed to examine the complete participation process, including the segment data.

Brooks China called that a mistake and ended its partnership with Abeeeer. It also apologized to runners and consumers while saying it would reassess how it evaluates future collaborators.

The fallout arrived just days after the Berlin Marathon, one of the world’s biggest road races. More than 56,000 runners entered this year’s event from 162 nations, making the contrast between a genuine marathon grind and an assisted finish all the more striking.

However, Abeeeer is not the first runner to discover that questionable shortcuts rarely stay hidden for long. In 2023, Scottish ultramarathoner Joasia Zakrzewski was disqualified from the GB Ultras Manchester to Liverpool race after officials found evidence that she had used a vehicle for part of the course. She had finished third before inconsistencies in the race data triggered an investigation.

The difference today is how quickly those inconsistencies can reach the public. Race timing systems, GPS records, course photographs, and thousands of spectators with smartphones can leave very little room for a suspicious performance to go unnoticed.

For Abeeeer, one photograph did not tell the entire story. But paired with one unusually fast split, it told enough. Her 4:53:46 finish may have initially looked like a personal milestone. Instead, it became a lesson in how quickly credibility can disappear when the numbers and the pictures tell a different story.

And for brands working with fitness creators, the episode offers another warning: before celebrating the time, someone may want to check how the runner got there.