Jesse Weber knew his YouTube video had gone viral when Maxim reached out. In four days, the seven minutes of edited GoPro footage showing him running the Antelope Canyon 50 Mile Ultramarathon netted nearly 100,000 views. The men’s magazine joined Fox Sports, Yahoo, and a UK paper called Metro in sharing Weber’s work.

Uploaded on February 21, one day after the race, the clip’s popularity was predicated on Weber’s sarcastic, self-deprecating commentary throughout. He had never run a marathon, let alone an ultra. To make the experience fun, he decided to carry a video camera. He also wore jean shorts.

“I knew since I was so terribly prepared for this race it was going to be funny,” Weber told Runner’s World. “I also knew that filming it would help distract myself from how miserable it was going to be.”

Weber said he was playing a character, a journeyman jogger with no real clue what was going on. In reality, the Flagstaff, Arizona, native is an avid outdoorsman with trail running experience. Many of his friends are elite runners who live in the area. That does not come across in the video, which shows him calling one aid station an “all-you-can-eat buffet.” At mile 38.5, he filmed himself drinking a PBR.

Weber intended the video to make his Facebook friends chuckle. Instead, he nearly caused the demise of the entire Antelope Canyon Trail Race Series.

Large portions of the ultramarathon go through a Navajo reservation, where alcohol is not permitted. Weber knew about this rule in advance, and drank the beer at an aid station outside of reservation boundaries. That is not made clear in the footage.

Two days after the clip appeared online, race director Matt Gunn started seeing comments on the event’s Facebook page from members of the Navajo community expressing concern about the video’s contents.

“I became aware of the sensitivity of the issue when I first saw the video. It wasn’t just about the alcohol,” Gunn said. “It is a respect thing more than anything. We are on their land as guests.”

Four days after the race, Gunn received an email from the tribal park supervisor, saying the video needed to be removed or the permits for the event could be in jeopardy.

Gunn contacted Weber, who removed the video immediately and replaced it with 30 seconds of footage showing an explanation about why he deleted it. He also posted an apology on his website.

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“The beer was definitely a trigger for the controversy because it was not clear that it was consumed off Navajo land,” Weber said. “But other things in the video could be considered disrespectful, like the jean shorts and the whole character, where I had a nonchalant attitude toward the landmarks.”

Weber said there was nothing derogatory toward the Navajo people in the video, “but I have to respect that there are these cultural perspectives outside of my own,” he continued. “I have to accept that and be willing to understand their wishes.”

Gunn was pleased with Weber’s response and said the whole thing was a miscommunication. He also said as of right now, the race will retain its permits for next year.

“This is not what we are about at this event, and we have made a huge effort to interact and educate people about the Navajo,” he said. The race offers an 80 percent discount to members of the Navajo community and has members of the tribe speak at an event the night before the race.

Weber, for his part, said he won’t be returning to the race next year—not because of his experience going viral, but because it was “too hard for me,” he said.

If he ever does run an ultramarathon again though, he plans on returning in jean shorts, saying, "No one realizes how practical they are.”

Kit Fox Special Projects Editor Kit has been a health, fitness, and running journalist for the past five years.

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