Matt Choi, the marathoner and influencer whose racing has been repeatedly overshadowed by controversy, is again under scrutiny after his appearance at this month’s Marquette Marathon.
Photos and firsthand accounts suggest that Choi was accompanied not just by a videographer, but by what amounted to a rolling support crew weaving in and out of the race on a one-wheel board.
According to one runner who reached out to Marathon Investigation after the event, the cameraman was “definitely weaving in and out of the course, near other runners, handing off bottles.”
The eyewitness added that it was disruptive and “annoying to have going on during a race.”
Whether the man had official permission to film remains unclear, since neither Choi nor the race organizers have responded to requests for comment, but the scene has reignited questions about whether Choi has really changed his approach after past incidents.
This isn’t the first time his tactics have raised eyebrows. At the 2024 New York City Marathon, Choi ran 2:57 but was later disqualified when race officials discovered he had been followed start to finish by two unauthorized e-bikes filming him.
New York Road Runners not only stripped his result but also issued a permanent ban, citing violations of both World Athletics rules and their own code of conduct. Choi later admitted on Instagram that he had been “selfish,” writing, “We endangered other runners, we impacted people going for PBs, we blocked people from getting water.”
Even before that, his presence had drawn mixed reactions.
Instagram influencers ruin everything. pic.twitter.com/NEYHtqROio
— Derek Murphy (@MarathnInvestgr) February 19, 2023
In 2023, he guided a runner at the NYC Marathon, a role that normally puts all attention on the supported athlete. Instead, critics noted that his posts and finish-line photos focused squarely on himself.
That same year, he also ran the Houston Marathon under another competitor’s bib, an infraction that disrupted official results and drew its own round of criticism.
The Marquette footage suggests a continuing pattern: races used less as athletic competitions than as backdrops for content. Sports ethicists say the problem is bigger than one runner.
Rules around outside assistance and unauthorized vehicles exist not just for fairness, but for safety. Crowded water stations and packed marathon courses leave little room for e-bikes, scooters, or one-wheels darting in and out to film or hand off bottles.
Choi is far from the only influencer to bring cameras onto courses, but his repeated entanglements with race officials put him at the center of the debate. Social media has expanded running’s reach, inspiring new audiences and drawing younger athletes into the sport.
Yet when the line between personal branding and competition blurs, it can come at the expense of the thousands of other runners who train for months to chase their goals under the same set of rules.
For now, the Marquette Marathon results appear unaffected, with no signs of altered standings or rule-breaking among the broader field. But for many in the community, the images of a personal videographer doubling as a mobile aid station so close to Choi raise a familiar question: is this about running, or about content?
