Imagine working hard to qualify for the Boston Marathon, running the race, and then purchasing a photo package filled with images of strangers wearing your bib number. That's what happened to Kara Bonneau, 34, of Durham, North Carolina, this week after she ran the race with number 14285, then received photos from MarathonFoto showing four other runners competing with that same number.

Bonneau suspects counterfeit bibs were printed based on a photo of her Boston Marathon bib number she posted on Instagram last Friday. She's not sure where the other runners purchased duplicates of her bib but is upset that her photo package includes shots of the four runners throughout the race, including crossing the finish line and wearing medals.

One of four other runners who ran with bib 14285. Photo courtesy MarathonFoto

"I was really upset because of all races, people work so hard to get into Boston," Bonneau said. "I have friends who qualified but didn't qualify by enough time so they still weren't able to register for the race because it was full."

This was Bonneau's second Boston Marathon--she re-qualified at the 2013 race--and she said not having a gear check at the race's start this year was frustrating but something she was willing to accept for added runner safety. Evidence of counterfeit bibs, though, gave her pause.

One of four other runners who ran with bib 14285. Photo courtesy MarathonFoto

"They put all these security measures into place this year that were a huge inconvenience to the runners, but it's all in the name of security so you deal with it." Bonneau said. "But then to realize there were people who no one knows or had any idea they were out there on the race course, it makes you wonder if it's really that secure at all--especially since it wouldn't be that hard to scan bibs when people enter the starting corral to make sure it's a real bib and not just a printout."

Bonneau untagged all the race photos of the other runners on the MarathonFoto site so that those runners couldn't have access to their race pictures, but she's still disheartened by the situation.

"I feel so bad for everybody who worked really hard to get in the race and couldn't," she said. "It never occurred to me when I was posting that photo that someone could use it in that way. I definitely learned a lesson about posting on social media, but it's really frustrating of all the races, people would do it at this one--and in such a significant year."

One of four other runners who ran with bib 14285. Photo courtesy MarathonFoto

Marc Davis of the Boston Athletic Association said the use of counterfeit bibs is something that happens every year, and the race strongly discourages it. "It's not a security issue–it's just that someone has a fake bib, and they get onto the course and run the race," Davis said. "We're looking more into the situation. The race was just a couple days ago, and we're still managing the event itself and the 36,000 official runners in the race."

One of the runners wearing bib number 14285 wore a singlet from the Big River Running Company in St. Louis, Missouri, another wore a singlet from the Heartbreak Hill Running Company in Newton, Massachusetts. Both businesses posted reactions to the story on their Facebook pages.

One of four other runners who ran with bib 14285. Photo courtesy MarathonFoto

"It has come to our attention that a bandit ran the Boston Marathon in an HHRC singlet," Heartbreak Hill co-owner Dan Fitzgerald wrote . "While I appreciate his taste in shirts, I do not appreciate the fact that he ran the race as a bandit in a forged bib. I do not know this individual and he has no affiliation with our store whatsoever."

"Photos are circulating of four individuals that used counterfeit bibs at The Boston Marathon. Big River does not condone the behavior of any individuals who take part in this practice. In regards to the woman wearing the Big River singlet, we do not recognize her and are appalled she chose to wear one of our singlets while wearing a counterfeit bib," Big River Running Company posted on its Facebook page.

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