Influencer Matt Choi banned from New York Marathon because of e-bikes

Running influencer Matt Choi has apologized after being disqualified from the New York City Marathon and banned from future races.

The 29-year-old YouTuber posted a video on Instagram on November 5th discussing his actions, including allowing two e-bike riders to film him running during the November 3rd race.

“I have no excuses, period,” he said in the video. “I was selfish on Sunday when my brother and videographer followed me around the course on e-bikes and that had serious consequences.”

“We have compromised other runners, we have compromised people attempting (their personal bests), and we have prevented people from getting water,” he continued. “Because the New York City Marathon is about everyone else and the community, it was also about myself. And to everyone I impacted, I'm sorry.”

The New York Times reported that a video posted on Reddit showed Choi's entourage driving alongside him and disrupting runners during the race. The New York Times also confirmed that the New York Road Runners – the organizers of the New York Marathon and other races in the city – have officially disqualified Choi's race and banned him from future races.

In his statement, he added: “Although there is an opportunity to appeal the ban, I will not do so.”

In the caption of his video, Choi also wrote: “E-bikes are not part of racing. No excuses. I was selfish and take full responsibility for my actions. I apologize to all affected runners and accept my DQ and lifetime ban.” . Never again.”

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Choi – who has over half a million followers on TikTok and Instagram – is best known for sharing his journey as a runner and has competed in other marathons across the country. Before his time was disqualified, he shared a video from the NYC Marathon on Instagram and shared that he ran the race in under three hours.

Choi had previously been criticized on social media for using e-bikes to film content during the 2023 Austin Marathon. Similar to New York, during that race, his entourage disrupted runners and marathon traffic as they rode e-bikes to film their content, per Running magazine.

In his video, he directly addressed his previous use of e-bikes in past races and the backlash he received at the time, confirming: “It stops here, it won't happen again.”