A Houston lawyer who went viral for running the NYC Marathon in a shirt advertising herself as single was removed from the official results, as reported by the New York Post. Andrea Sager, 35, lost her time after taking a hit of marijuana from a spectator on the course. New York Road Runners told her she had broken its Code of Conduct, which bans smoking tobacco and marijuana products.
Sager ran her first marathon on Nov. 1 in a hot pink shirt that read “Andrea, 35, Single. Great Credit. Bad Judgement” on the front. The back carried the line “Looking for a man with more endurance than my ex.” She finished in 5:54, a time that no longer appears on the race’s finisher board, although she kept her finisher medal.
The shirt had already made Sager a viral name before the disqualification. She has said that so many runners came up to her during the race, and that hundreds, if not thousands, of men have since sent her direct messages, with ages ranging from their 20s to their 70s. Sager, who got divorced in 2020 and has two young children, has said she is not ruling anyone out.
Sager says the pain was why she accepted the puff and that she has no regrets
Road Runners wiped Sager’s entry from its finisher’s board on a Tuesday, telling her she had broken the Code of Conduct. Sager said she accepted the puff because she was in so much pain, and she added that she understands the decision. She has no regrets, as she already has the finisher medal in hand and a few thousand new followers on Instagram.
Sager has treated the ruling with humor. In an Instagram post confirming the disqualification, she gave her time as 5:54 and joked that she can no longer send it to Boston. She also said the loss simply means she might have to run another marathon. However, she has said she would make the same choice again, as the pain on the course left her feeling she needed the help.
The organizer has used the same Code of Conduct against another high-profile Texas runner. After the 2024 race, New York Road Runners disqualified influencer Matt Choi, who finished in 2:57:15, and banned him from future races, as two unauthorized people on electric bicycles had filmed him on the course. However, the cases differ, as nothing reported so far suggests Sager faces more than the lost result.
A finish line is no guarantee of a result, as Sager learned when her 5:54 was erased days after she crossed it, while a runner who celebrated too early lost a 2026 Delaware Marathon win by about 950 milliseconds. Sager, however, still holds the medal she earned for completing the 26.2 miles through the five boroughs.
Sager’s entry was tied to charity as well. According to a LinkedIn post, she ran with Team for Kids and set a goal of raising $5,000 to support youth running and fitness programs. She also runs a legal tech company alongside her law practice, and she has described her everyday life as all business, which is why the dating shirt surprised people who know her.
The message on the shirt landed with plenty of potential suitors. Sager has said age is not an issue for her, and she joked that dating her can be a bit like dating a drill sergeant. Her advice to others is simply to have fun and do something that gets laughs and makes people smile, which is how she describes the shirt.
Nothing reported so far suggests Sager faces any penalty beyond the lost result, and she has said she may simply run another marathon, leaving open whether the pink shirt returns at a future start line.
Published: Nov 14, 2026 06:30 am