Did Mike Rossi (viral marathon dad) cheat his way into Boston?

SmartRunnr wrote:

Last try: several such photos were discussed here on page 659. Feel free to claim that those weren't Rossi's. In that case, let's agree to disagree.

It is obvious to anyone with even half a brain that the photos discussed on page 659 are a fraudulent attempt at claiming photos of Rossi on the course exist other than start and finish.

SmartRunnr wrote:

elephino wrote:

Don't think I said anything about how many photos there were or if there was something "wrong" with any of them. I only said that there were no photos of Mike Rossi other than at the start and finish, which is true.

If you have photos of Rossi not at the start or finish, please post the links and tell us where on the course they are from.

Last try: several such photos were discussed here on page 659. Feel free to claim that those weren't Rossi's. In that case, let's agree to disagree.

So, are you claiming that Rossi pulled a Kip Litton and changed outfits in the middle of the race? If you claim that the guy in the black shirt at the edge of the middle of the race photos was Rossi, who was photographed elsewhere in the race wearing a gray shirt, and not the guy in the black shirt who was clearly identifiable in subsequent photos, then you're saying he changed clothes during the race a la Kip Litton.

Other than the ones of Rossi at the finish, what others are you talking about?

SmartRunnr wrote:

Last try

*hoooray*

SmartRunnr wrote:

Loofa Dog wrote:

6:40mi is 2:55 marathon pace, if he couldn't hold that for 5 or 10 miles he isn't coming near sub 3.

Well, 2:59 => 6:50 pace. Hence the over/under, an old classic: you alternate 1 mile in 6:40 with 1 mile in 7:00 for a total of 10 miles. This is a hard workout about 9 - 10 weeks before the goal marathon.

Sounds ridiculous to you of course, for that is your recovery pace, but not everyone is a sub-15 letsrunner.

Not a workout I have heard of nor done. But I do know a 6:40 is a little over 1:27 for the half. And 6:50 is 1:30 half pace. IMHO a runner needs to be able to run a solid 1:30 pretty easily in the half to have a shot at sub3. Most sub 3 guys I know have half PRs around 1:24 to 1:26.

Tell Mike to keep working at it ;)

SmartRunnr wrote:

Loofa Dog wrote:

6:40mi is 2:55 marathon pace, if he couldn't hold that for 5 or 10 miles he isn't coming near sub 3.

Well, 2:59 => 6:50 pace. Hence the over/under, an old classic: you alternate 1 mile in 6:40 with 1 mile in 7:00 for a total of 10 miles. This is a hard workout about 9 - 10 weeks before the goal marathon.

Sounds ridiculous to you of course, for that is your recovery pace, but not everyone is a sub-15 letsrunner.

If memory serves, Mike's 10 mile PR was run at a slower pace than that workout. Hammering out another personal best on a training run... way to go Mike.

Next time you see him, could you pass on our congratulations? We are all in awe.

He's running New York? Does he realize what a terrible idea that is? There is a chip mat every 5km. He will actually have to run the first part to Brooklyn, and then it MIGHT be possible to take the N and R subway up through most of Brooklyn, but he'll have to get out, cross the mat, and get back on the subway every 5km. Once he gets to Queens, he'll either need to transfer, or call an Uber. You should talk him into a different marathon, perhaps another small one that doesn't have chip mats yet. There are bound to be a few left.

Need a mule but god, it must pay at least half of 100k to be palatable.

Multivitamin wrote:

He's running New York? Does he realize what a terrible idea that is? There is a chip mat every 5km. He will actually have to run the first part to Brooklyn, and then it MIGHT be possible to take the N and R subway up through most of Brooklyn, but he'll have to get out, cross the mat, and get back on the subway every 5km. Once he gets to Queens, he'll either need to transfer, or call an Uber. You should talk him into a different marathon, perhaps another small one that doesn't have chip mats yet. There are bound to be a few left.

It's actually much harder since NY also uses a lot of undocumented mats. The undocumented mats show up as splits on race day, but they aren't recorded in perpetuity like the 5k ones after the race. Also some of the mats are on bridges where it's hard to get to. I would say it's damn near impossible to cheat at NY without missing a mat or having weird split times.

frankis wrote:

It's actually much harder since NY also uses a lot of undocumented mats. The undocumented mats show up as splits on race day, but they aren't recorded in perpetuity like the 5k ones after the race. Also some of the mats are on bridges where it's hard to get to. I would say it's damn near impossible to cheat at NY without missing a mat or having weird split times.

NY also DQs a lot of runners each year. They don't play games with missing mats.

Loofa Dog wrote:

frankis wrote:

It's actually much harder since NY also uses a lot of undocumented mats. The undocumented mats show up as splits on race day, but they aren't recorded in perpetuity like the 5k ones after the race. Also some of the mats are on bridges where it's hard to get to. I would say it's damn near impossible to cheat at NY without missing a mat or having weird split times.

NY also DQs a lot of runners each year. They don't play games with missing mats.

Like all real races should. Not the cheat-fest LVM '14 was.

frankis wrote:

It's actually much harder since NY also uses a lot of undocumented mats. The undocumented mats show up as splits on race day, but they aren't recorded in perpetuity like the 5k ones after the race. Also some of the mats are on bridges where it's hard to get to. I would say it's damn near impossible to cheat at NY without missing a mat or having weird split times.

Maybe the Brojos challenge should have insisted that he gets a photo en-route in a taxi and a subway

Mike Rossi is now confirmed as an accepted entry into the 2016 Boston Marathon.

He was able to use his highly questionable finishing time from the 2014 Lehigh Valley marathon for double year entry.

somebloke wrote:

Smartrunnr

Maybe you should change your handle. Just a hint.

Thanks. Good point, I really should use some 5 - 8 handles like you, then I could tell you under several different names how wrong you are.

But, that would be troll behavior, which I despise.

btt, why do you talk - under a couple of different handles of course - so much about mats at the New York marathon? Who cares where the mats are.

switek wrote:

Mike Rossi is now confirmed as an accepted entry into the 2016 Boston Marathon.

He was able to use his highly questionable finishing time from the 2014 Lehigh Valley marathon for double year entry.

Good for him. But what do you mean with "highly questionable finishing time"? Those silly old rumors have long been proven to be false.

SmartRunnr wrote:

switek wrote:

Mike Rossi is now confirmed as an accepted entry into the 2016 Boston Marathon.

He was able to use his highly questionable finishing time from the 2014 Lehigh Valley marathon for double year entry.

Good for him. But what do you mean with "highly questionable finishing time"? Those silly old rumors have long been proven to be false.

^^Your right. The silly rumors that he might possibly have run the course honestly are long ago laughed off due to the multiple factors LRC has discussed in the last zillion pages.

SmartRunnr wrote:

somebloke wrote:

Smartrunnr

Maybe you should change your handle. Just a hint.

Thanks. Good point, I really should use some 5 - 8 handles like you, then I could tell you under several different names how wrong you are.

But, that would be troll behavior, which I despise.

btt, why do you talk - under a couple of different handles of course - so much about mats at the New York marathon? Who cares where the mats are.

This is the only handle I have used on this thread since the beginning. Sorry mate, you are wrong again.

SmartRunnr wrote:

Hilarious. It actually looks as if he really believes that Mike may not have run the full mary. He is so delusional!

The only people more delusional than Stillman are those who believe that they can fool other people into thinking Rossi ran a 3:11 Marathon legitimately, this is known as "Jumping the Ken"

It isn't really a question about vehicle speed as it is logistics. Mike would be crazy to pick a big event like New York or Chicago, both of which have chip mats every 5k. Cheating at an event like that would require Mission Impossible level planning. He needs to find another Lehigh Valley Marathon, where the organizers don't bother with chips and cameras, because they just assume that no one cheats. Terribly naive and trusting of them...

It makes me want to create a marathon where I'd state up front that it is NOT a Boston Qualifier just so that I could discourage the cheaters from entering in the first place.

If you followed any of his social media antics you'd see that he was indeed the star of every single event he worked. Countless pictures of him in a white suit either sporting a white cowboy hat or just the plugs. I could imagine he usually likes to give a shout into the Mike every 5 minutes to make sure he's getting enough attention. This air personality is always the star of the show.