When runners have crossed the line following 26.2 gruelling miles of stomping their feet into the tarmac, one of the first things they do is look at their smartwatch.
Have they got a PB? Did they achieve their target time?
If the answer to both questions is yes, the majority of modern runners will turn to the Strava app to share the good news. They may even screenshot the time given to them by the tracking app and post it to Instagram, followed by a smiley snap showing off their medal.
However, before taking to social media, runners may want to think about the Strava police before clicking the post button.
What are the Strava police exactly? Well, they are people within the running community who patrol social media to check whether influencers’ times from marathons and other official long-distance running events are legitimate.
The cream of the crop is an account named the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU), otherwise known as @officialunofficialtime, which boasts over 30,000 Instagram followers.
The accounts’ aim is to protect ‘the integrity of the marathon’ through exposing influencers who gloat about their Strava times on social media, rather than the official chip time given to them by race organisers.
A social media page is keeping runners honest by calling out fake posts online
OMTIU’s mission statement on Instagram reads: ‘Our mission at the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU) is to restore truth, accuracy and transparency to distance running.
‘We exist to protect the integrity of the sport by ensuring that the time athletes share publicly reflect the times they actually ran.’
One of the account’s main points is to expose what they call ‘Strava inflation’. That is the idea that the chip time is the most accurate race result because it uses radio frequencies between the start and finish line to track the time, rather than GPS signals.
Now, in most cases, discrepancies between the chip and Strava times can be just a couple of minutes, or even seconds. That’s because the GPS on sports watches, such as Garmin or Coros, is not considered as accurate as the radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip located in a race bib.
Having to weave through a sea of bodies on your route can cause your GPS to think it’s run further than the course suggests, or maybe it gets in a pickle when you run by tall buildings.
OMTIU’s best example for this case is from the Valencia marathon in December 2025. Winner John Korir, who led the majority of the race, had a GPS drift of nearly 400m, with his Garmin watch suggesting that he had run 42.59 kilometres, rather than the measured official course length of 42.195km.
Running influencer Zae Mangu deleted this post after Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit called it out online. He has been contacted for comment
The group say they ‘exist to protect the integrity of the sport’
The account is hunting down influencers, whatever their following, who are aware of the discrepancies, but still choose to post their Strava time because it is quicker. They say this is because they want to protect newcomers to running from being ‘misled’ by social media stars, or athletes, who share ‘fraudulent performances’.
They put forward ‘case files’ in which they accuse content creators of using Strava times that can be several minutes faster than their official chip time.
‘We follow a simple triage process,’ the self-proclaimed ‘Chief Integrity Officer’ of the OMTIU tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘We don’t issue infringements to private individuals or inexperienced runners who are just starting their journey.
‘Our focus is on influencers, online coaches and experienced runners, people who should understand how race timing works. We only proceed where there is clear evidence that the performance has been deliberately manipulated to appear faster than the official result.’
In February, OMTIU posted their top five marathon time infringements, which they based on ‘publicly available data, timing records and performance patterns’.
Among the five, the biggest discrepancy between the Strava and chip times was 23 minutes from Zae Mangu, otherwise known as @_fitZae on Instagram, a fitness content creator from New Zealand.
After running the Auckland Marathon, he shared that he had run a time of 3 hours and two minutes with his followers. However, OMTIU believe that data proves Zae stopped his watch 4km before the finish line, despite the activity on Strava suggesting he had run 42.2km.
His official chip time, which was not initially shared online, was in fact 3 hours 25 minutes and 42 seconds. Zae has since deleted his post and shared the official time on Instagram in a marathon recap video.
Holly Archer, a European indoor Championships silver medallist in the 1500m, praised the investigative work of OMTIU in the comments of Zae’s particular ‘case file’, writing, ‘This is so NEEDED’.
The account posts several Instagram stories each day calling out content creators, including the likes of Love Island’s Casey O’Gorman, while they have six ‘case files’ on their main grid, in addition to several posts regarding their rules and regulations.
While the account believes that the integrity of a marathon time discrepancy should be measured in ‘seconds as much as minutes’, they can be lenient when the disparity is only minor.
However, running influencer Jennifer Mannion (above) has criticised the group for their action, insiting ‘there is a time and a place’
The account’s spokesperson continues: ‘We typically don’t highlight minor discrepancies of a few seconds. For longer distances, we generally look for differences of over a minute before taking action.
‘There are exceptions for example, if we see clear manipulation to fall under a major milestone like a sub-3-hour marathon, that is something we consider worth highlighting regardless.’
However, some in the running community are beginning to grow tired of OMTIU’s antics, believing the account could be more sympathetic toward some creators they call out.
Sources have told Daily Mail Sport that there is increasing ‘heat’ on OMTIU within the community, due to a recent post regarding a runner who had run a marathon in honour of their deceased father.
Running influencer Jennifer Mannion, who has 110,000 followers on Instagram and is a Lululemon ambassador, recently took to social media asking for ‘better’ from those who call out other creators.
Her Instagram story read: ‘You know this Strava chip time stuff, when I first started running I genuinely had no idea about it. Literally the only way I found out was I posted my Strava time online and a man sent me a DM letting me know I was wrong by calling me a “ugly little pig”.
‘There is a time and place for big influencers/coaches and yes it’s strange to lie but I think sometimes people aren’t even aware they are lying.
‘Last night I saw a post calling out someone that ran a marathon in memory of their dad who passed away, the account was pretty small and have deleted the post because fans of this other account seem to go and troll whoever is called out on the page?
‘There isn’t anything wrong with sending a messsage saying “hey well done just letting you know”…But is this really the way to do it. Can we not please do better?’
Jenny and Zae were both approached by Daily Mail Sport for comment.
OMTIU say that if there is ‘any uncertainty’ surrounding the discrepancy, they will ensure to approach the accused creator before calling them out. But if there is ‘clear and objective evidence of deliberate manipulation’ they will immediately post to Instagram in what they call ‘similar to a parking ticket’.
‘In many cases, individuals contact us shortly after to acknowledge the issue,’ OMTIU adds. ‘We’re always open to discussion and resolution, and if someone corrects their result, we fully support that. The objective is accuracy, not escalation.
‘If asking for honesty is considered harsh, that’s a concern in itself. We don’t discriminate based on following size if someone presents themselves as a coach, influencer or business, regardless of scale, there is an expectation they understand how race results work.
‘We only highlight cases where it’s clear the individual should know better, and in most instances, they definitely do.’
If you are currently training for the London Marathon, or are reading this ahead of a big race as early as this weekend, just beware of the Strava Police. You may just find yourself on an Instagram story if you don’t post the chip time.
