dsb wrote:
I'm just attempting to look at this from a legal standpoint...and no I am neither a lawyer nor do I play one on TV. A lack of photographs of him doesn't prove that he didn't run along the predefined course. Only a photograph of him in the act of venturing off of the course; or perhaps timestamped video surveillance of him ordering a double decaf latte, would provide absolute proof that he cheated. And without absolute proof I don't see anyone taking action against a recreational runner for whom the sanctions would be largely symbolic.
Why should a Race Director's burden of proof to DQ a runner be greater than the state's in a criminal trial? If a prosecutor needed a photograph or video of the defendant committing a crime to get a conviction, the prisons would be pretty empty places. Juries have convicted people of murder without a body, for goodness sake.
A guy gets accused of cheating, and by coincidence his time at Boston is 50 minutes slower than his qualifier. By coincidence, nothing in his limited < 2 years racing past would indicate the remote possibility of him being able to run a 3:11 marathon, on a hot day no less. By coincidence, the same guy who uses GPS for his races and training runs doesn't use it on the day of the greatest race of his life, even though he's wearing it. By coincidence, a guy who loves to yak about all of his races, posting times and multiple pics after each race, barely says a thing about a HUGE marathon PR and BQ. By coincidence, a guy who likes to make short films about his races doesn't take (or have someone film) even one second of video of himself during the race. By coincidence, a guy who wears clothes to call attention to himself during his races (flag shirt at Philly; Go Mike shirt at Boston; BAA shirts at just about every other damn race), wears a grey shirt, black shorts and black hat (which is a perfect ensemble to wear while running 26.2 miles on a hot, sunny day) for his miracle BQ race. By coincidence, the guy posts multiple pictures of himself in different BAA shirts and jackets before ever running Boston, showing a clear obsession with the race. Then by coincidence, not one picture is taken of this same guy by the official race photographers during the race, even though there are multiple photographs of EVERY OTHER RUNNER on different parts of the course.
As they say, if there are too many coincidences, it isn't a coincidence.