Did runners caught in flood ignore safer route? Cops investigating shocking video of N.J. race.

September 16, 2026

Officials in Bergen County are investigating whether runners avoided a safer route and waded through rising flood waters during a half marathon over the weekend.

Some runners in the Racefaster Half Marathon— including a former “Bachelorette” winner — posted video on social media as they trudged through waist-high water in Paramus on Sunday.

The organizer of the race has been banned from holding events in the county’s parks for at least one year, county spokesperson Derek Sands said Tuesday.

But runners are also facing scrutiny for allegedly passing up an alternate route set up by the organizer that would have diverted them from the flooded Route 4 underpass in Saddle River County Park, Sands said. nj.com