Rosie Ruiz on TV right now

Right. I posted last night and will be thanking my cable company for not having the Game Network, so I missed the show. I still feel for Jacquie. The culmination of your life's work (up til that point) being the second sweetest victory known to a runner (again at that time, and I place Olympic gold #1) to be robbed of the accolades, the glory and even a few endorsements. We shouldn't even be acknowledging her.

It realy is a shame that the only "good" coverage for our sport is devoted to the cheats and misfortunate events that always seem to overshadow the great races, rivalries, and stories of true champions. This is the kind of shit that is killing track and field. That they would devote two hours, not to mention a repeat broadcast, to the Ruiz incident, and how all of the few poorly broadcasted track meets are focused more on the Balco scandal than the event itself is rediculous.

The show was well produced, but too long. The story could have been told well in an hour, there simply wasn't enough information to effectively fill two hours.

I guess the racers all knew immediately that it was a sham, but Cloney was apparently on the spot to crown her as champion. I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Gareau at Boston last year and she was a real class act.

Regarding those of you who say that there is too little coverage of track and racing today, I'd say that this show will likely generate some additional interest in the sport among non-fans. I think that might do some good for the sport. (Of course, it might also generate some efforts to copycat Ruiz's behavior.)

I agree. It was fun to watch, if a bit long, and showed a lot of respect for the sport. The show made it abundantly obvious that she cheated, why she cheated, and how she got caught. Gareau was heaped with accolades, which she totally earned. What was nice was that everyone interviewed expressed a love of the boston marathon and the people who run it. And same with the new york city marathon and the olympics. I tivo'd it and will watch it again when my girlfriend comes over.

Hey Rosie. Shut your mouth and do what all other washed up chicks do - a nude photo shoot. Ewww!

BTW, before I made my prior post, I should have asked - What does Rosie look like now?

Biff Henderson wrote:

BTW, before I made my prior post, I should have asked - What does Rosie look like now?

Well she didn't look the greatest 26 years ago at age 26, so just imagine what she looks like at age 52. Definitely not someone you want a nude photo shoot of.

This whole Rosie story is researched and reported in detail in my Boston Marathon book.

As for me personally on that day I worked for WBZ radio at 20 miles on the top of Heartbreak Hill and with microphone in hand and 50,000 watts clear channel I told what I saw and who I saw go by. I recognized everyone, all the top women who passed and there was no Rosie all the way back to the point when the three plus hour runners came by. Then the time was 2:20 when the field was crowded and I could have missed her but that would require 6 miles covered in 11 minutes. So I am personally sure she cheated as well as sure as a researcher.

But, the unfortunate fact is that if a person knows only one name associated with the Boston Marathon, it is usually Rosie Ruiz.

Tom

Derderian wrote:

But, the unfortunate fact is that if a person knows only one name associated with the Boston Marathon, it is usually Rosie Ruiz.

Tom

Tom,

I respectfully disagree, I will go with the name of the first man to pass you at the 20 mile mark in 1980 - Mr. Bill Rodgers.

I have to second Biff Henderson, Boston Billy is more known than Racing' Rosie

STICKER SHOCK wrote:

I have to second Biff Henderson, Boston Billy is more known than Racing' Rosie

I would perfer to be wrong on this.

Tom

The name Rosie Ruiz is still evoked and recognized by people who have no idea who Bill Rodgers is. That's the sad fact. She's the enduring punchline to jokes, even in 2006.

Tiny Purple Fishes wrote:

The name Rosie Ruiz is still evoked and recognized by people who have no idea who Bill Rodgers is. That's the sad fact. She's the enduring punchline to jokes, even in 2006.

They showed last night that she is an answer on Trivia Pursuit. I am sure that Bill Rodgers never comes up as an answer in that game.

rosie wrote:

Cool show on Rosie Ruiz right now on the Game Show Network. Cool coverage of the 1980 Boston MArathon!

Does anyone know if GSN will be repeating their documentary...and when? Also, if Rosie "won" Boston in 2:31, what time did she "run" at New York for her qualifier? Anyone know?

"Fame has a fifteen minute half-life, infamy lasts a little longer." (The Insider (1999))

2:53 at NYC if I'm not mistaken - the subway was slower to get around in then a cab at Boston.

hank

hi i just found this message board after seeing rosie ruiz on tv. she is very inspiring. i don't like intervals either. does anyone here know about her training for the marathon or where i can get in touch with her. i am planning to run the boston marathon in 2008. thank you.

I posted this over on Dyestat, on a similar thread:

I guess I'd fall into that category, in that I ran Boston '80. First, the heat was terrible that day, I can remember sitting at the starting line, the sun beating on my back, and sweating profusely (start is at high noon, for the uninitiated), and thinking how difficult the day was going to be. We all knew when we saw Ms. Ruiz later on the local news "finishing" with a (cotton) shirt that was barely wet, that something was way out of line. It was a death march that day.

Second, somewhere around the half marathon mark I found myself running next to Patty Lyons Catalano, and as in many races, the crowd was calling out to her as the second place woman. We could see the eventual real winner about 100+m ahead, Jackie Gareau, the French Canadian, who was a known marathoner in that era. I can remember on an upgrade that Patty just put in a major surge, which I had no inclination to follow, and quickly put considerable distance between us. So, again, when I heard that this mystery woman had won, I was pretty skeptical, having seen the real #1&2, and being pretty certain that no other woman had passed me between that point and the finish line.

According to my TV listings (all Eastern time), it will be shown:Thursday 10 pm (Jan 12)Saturday 10 pm (Jan 14)Sunday 6 pm (Jan 15)

desert rodent wrote:

Does anyone know if GSN will be repeating their documentary...and when?