Ultrarunning con man cheated employees and charities

May 2, 2024

What seemed like a remarkable running-inspired charity endeavour has turned into a shocking tale of deception and unpaid debts. Extreme endurance athlete Tomasz Drybala of London claimed to be raising a whopping $1.3 million for UNICEF by running the circumference of the Earth, as reported in MailOnline—but it now appears that Drybala may well be a fraudster who is already working on his next con.

Drybala, 46, who is originally from Poland but makes his home in the U.K., allegedly hired employees in 2022 to help him on a three-year quest to raise more than $1 million (£785,000) for UNICEF, but left staff and donors tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket while enjoying himself on trips abroad. The charity launched an investigation into Dyrabala’s actions in January, after he admitted to raising a mere $25 (£20) before abandoning his fundraising project entirely. Canadian Running