And with that said there's nothing more to do here. The community has moved on and VIA has learned it's lesson to tighten controls. Boston looks to the BQ marathons to do what they have to do. So looks like mission accomplished.
NYC Runner wrote:
First time poster here. I jumped onto this thread around page 200 and within minutes (seconds really), it became patently obvious that Rossi cheated. Anyone who thinks otherwise does not know running or has their own agenda.
So there are 2 types of people who post here…
1) Those who are enraged and incensed by the injustice and unfairness in a sport we hold near and dear to our hearts. We have been dishonored and our voices not heard.
2) “Supporters” of Rossi – some might be Mike himself, some could be friends/family (who know in their hearts what the truth is but feel an obligation to come to his rescue), other “supporters” are just toying with the whole thing and involved in their own attention seeking.
Where a 3:11 is certainly not an amazing time for a middle-aged man, it certainly is a near impossible reach for Mike Rossi. I like the question that was asked previously. “What if everything else was the same (no photos, lack of training/results, perpetual bragging, etc. etc.), but instead of the 3:11, Mike Rossi won the race overall with a 2:15?” How would the conclusion to DQ or not be different than it is now?
Some advice to folks posting on here… Do not validate the stupid posts by replying to them. Simply ignore them. The personal/family attacks lose credibility. Stick to facts and ways of spreading this story in an appropriate and civilized way.
I applaud the folks who have gone out of their way to try to right the wrong – whether it’s creating blogs, collecting and sharing data, emailing the appropriate powers that be. This takes time and I’m sure you’re not influenced by those who say “get a life.” To the contrary, doing the right thing is what life is all about.
Also, remember that some people are just joining the thread, so it would be helpful to repost links and other useful information. I believe in the power of this community. For whatever reason, the VIA Marathon thought they were taking the path of least resistance by not DQ’ing Rossi despite the obvious evidence. I’m hopefully that someone with influence can bring appropriate closure to these unfortunate circumstances. But in the mean time, let's all do our part.
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