Vice City Marathon Winner Disqualified After Officials Confirm He Drove 18 Miles of the Course
This year's winner of the Vice City Coastal Marathon, 44-year-old Gerald "Gearbox" Pena, was stripped of his title and finisher's medal Sunday after race officials confirmed GPS data indicated Pena had covered 18.3 of the 26.2-mile course from the interior of a 2019 Honda Accord. Pena, who crossed the finish line approximately 41 minutes ahead of the second-place runner with "noticeably dry shoes" according to event volunteers, told officials he had "hit a wall around mile eight and made an executive decision."
The Accord, driven by Pena's brother-in-law Denny, was apparently invisible to the eleven race marshals it passed because, Pena argued, "everyone assumed it was just part of the safety crew."
