Influencer Alexa Curtis is slammed for boasting about running the Brooklyn half marathon without registering or paying

A New York City influencer is coming under fire after she admitted to running in last weekend's Brooklyn Half Marathon without paying.

Alexa Curtis who has more than 23,000 followers on Instagram and a further 13,000 on X, posted both a video and an accompanying tweet about how she ran the entire 13.1 miles without registering or paying to run the race. 

The cost to those runners who were participating is $125. 

Curtis wrote a lengthy tweet in which she explained how the race had been cathartic for her with the race route, bringing back memories of her time in Brooklyn.

'I just ran 13.1 miles for the Brooklyn half marathon at a 7.43 minute pace. I didn't walk at all. I cried during a lot of it,' she stated. 'I went to bed at 10 PM. I didn't sign up for this race. I just asked the security where it started and where it ended and jumped in.'

New York City influencer, Alexa Curtis, sparked controversy after confessing to running in the Brooklyn Half Marathon without paying the $125 entrance fee

Curtis shared a video and tweet about her unregistered 13.1-mile run, skipping the $125 fee highlighting her run's emotional significance 

Alongside her video, Alexa Curtis posted a lengthy tweet about her run

Curtis was taken to task by online users who were unhappy with her behavior

'No one watched me cross the finish line this year. I didn't charge my AirPods last night. I didn't train for this. The most I've run in the past 13 months was 6 miles. I had 2 glasses of wine last night.'

Curtis, who founded Be Fearless Inc., a 'reinvented career brand' devoted to 'helping you be fearless & the boss of your own life', told how she had run past her very first Brooklyn apartment, where she had endured heartbreak in both business and her personal life. 

'I ran past my first apartment in Brooklyn, where I lived when I was so broke and blogging living with five roommates. 

'Over the past year I've faced the worst heartbreak in business and my personal life. Moved to a different country. Got f***** over so bad in business. Got out of debt and got back into a bit of it. The only person I relied on to show up and cross that finish line today was myself,' Curtis went on. 

But those reading her message and watching her video online saw her cheapness  very differently and were astounded she'd had the audacity to run the race without paying. 

Banditing — running a race without registering — is particularly controversial in the running world because the entry fees are used to pay for course support such as security, medical responders, water and energy drinks.

A portion of the registration costs typically goes to charity.

Alexa Curtis describes herself as the CEO of Alexa Curtis Consulting with her motto 'Be Fearless'

Curtis founded Be Fearless Inc., a 'reinvented career brand' devoted to 'helping you be fearless & the boss of your own life'

'Bit unfair on the others who have paid for the police support, road closures and first aiders...,' wrote Lorna Roberts.

'Life's not fair :(' Curtis responded.

'Bad attitude - do better', responded X user Stefan Lingmerth.

'You are a bandit and you stole from this race and this community. these things are expensive and for charity. shame on you', added another user.

'This is really disingenuous and self serving. I'm sorry you felt that cheating the system was the way to be 'fearless'. You could have ran 13.1 through Central Park, dude. I hope you are banned from running any more of their races. (You already knew the risks when you decided to do this) And you can shove 'life's not fair' up your self-righteous hiney,' stated another. 

On Monday, Curtis apologized to her followers but the criticism didn't stop. 

On Monday, Curtis apologized to her followers 

The criticism didn't stop with more users online piling in and demanding better from her in the future

'I did not realize I would offend so many people. The post was meant to be inspirational and I had no intention to take anything from anyone or the race: I was running for myself for my mental health. In the future I'll be sure to look up the rules if I decide to run again,' Curtis said. 

'You knew the rules. If everyone did what you did what do you think would happen', Lingmerth chimed in. 

'It's abundantly clear why you can't get ahead. You're scammy and entitled and deeply unlikeable,' wrote Camilla Rhodes.

'You're inspiring people to cheat the system by not donating to charitable events then bragging about it online calling it fearless. Money, time and resources go into an event like that which in turn helps people. You took advantage of it to try to raise yourself up.', stated Nikki.

'If you are truly sorry you would make a donation of the entry fee to the main charity of the event. Anything else is just words and your regret is only that you have been called out on what is basically cheating. How would your clients feel about you being a cheat. Be better,' added David Swales. 

Under pressure, Curtis made a second apology on Monday night adding she had made a $150 donation

The NYCRUNS Brooklyn Half, whose route passes under under the Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges before ending in Prospect Park, released a statement condemning Curtis' behavior. 

'We had a record number of runners at Sunday's NYCRUNS Brooklyn Half Marathon with over 21,000 official finishers.

'Our top priority is the safety and well-being of every one of those runners, and the bib that every runner wears is their lifeline if a medical issue arises on the course. It's dangerous to run in a race without a bib, and it's also not fair to the thousands of runners who are.'