Runner says their 27yo friend ran a 5K under her 44yo sister’s name, came second in the age category and kept the medal

A runner says they reported their friend to race organizers after the friend accepted a medal for a performance under a different name, according to a Reddit post by u/Ill-Employment4891 in r/AITApod. The situation reportedly unfolded at a charity 5K, where the friend ran under her 44-year-old sister’s registration bib.

The friend, 27, apparently used the bib because her sister couldn’t attend. According to the Redditor, they knew about the plan beforehand and didn’t mind the switch at the time, since they were looking for cheap races to fit a budget. Everything reportedly seemed fine until the awards ceremony.

According to the Redditor, the organizers called out the name on the bib for second place in the 40 to 49 age category. The friend then reportedly walked up to the podium and accepted the medal. The Redditor claims they questioned the friend about keeping the award, but the friend insisted she earned it because she ran the race.

The Redditor felt a runner in their 40s had been robbed of that spot

The Redditor pointed out that she competed against people nearly twice her age, which meant someone else should have received the medal. However, the friend reportedly dismissed these concerns, so the Redditor contacted the event organizers to explain the situation. According to the Redditor, the organizers apparently corrected the rankings and requested the medal’s return.

This action apparently caused a conflict between the two, as the friend is now upset and allegedly telling mutual friends that the Redditor acted behind her back over a low-value award. The friend argues that the Redditor knew about the bib swap before the race started and only took issue with it once a prize was involved. The Redditor admits this, acknowledging they didn’t care about the bib situation until it resulted in what they consider an unfair award.

Public reaction to the story has largely been critical of the friend. One commenter asked why she felt the need to undermine a charity event and its honest participants just to get a cheap medal. Another argued that beating people twice her age amounts to cheating, joking that only Roger Smith from American Dad gets to keep an award for that.

Two separate comments argued that running on the borrowed bib was fine. However, they said accepting a second-place medal was wrong, as the age gap likely gave the friend an unfair advantage. With the rankings reportedly corrected, the second-place medal in the 40 to 49 category should go to a runner who actually belongs in that age group, provided the friend returns it as organizers requested.