Frank Meza 2:53:10 at LA Marathon (70 years old) unofficial time (just finished)

What's the black neck cord for? wrote:

rwrwrwrwrwrw wrote:

Is that a cell phone outline under his t-shirt? Might support the accomplice hypothesis... Or maybe just good to have access to a gps map as he navigates downtown LA?

Another odd thing to add to the many accoutrements weighing Frank down and which would impede your normal sub three hour marathon runner on a hot day, i.e. T shirt short sleeve, T shirt long sleeve, cell phone, bib belt, fanny pack, baggy shorts, two watches, he's also a black cord around his neck, what could that be for?

Could the neck cord be a lanyard, on which is attached timing chip of some sort? Don't know what method LAM uses; if it's embedded into bib might be difficult to remove. But, with his often quite-late starts, maybe he shuffles through the crowd, sidles past the OUTSIDE of the starting chute (but close enough to trigger the timing system) casually swinging the lanyard. I might be a way to trigger any of the intermediate (e.g., 5K, 10K) pads, just mosey up close to system, like any spectator. He'd just need to get on course for "known" camera locations, then leave in order to rinse and repeat. Just a thought experiment.

If Frank Meza copies 2018 LAM, he would again duck out past 40k and re-enter with about 700 meters to the finish. At the rate things are going we will see Frank Meza off course prior to every timing mat. But still no visuals of him after the mats leaving the running course. I watched a 5k run in Anaheim Ca. this morning. Their is a turn to the finish with about 300 meters left. We witnessed the 2 leaders overshoot the turn. Then the 3rd place did turn toward the finish. Then one of the original leaders came back and chased the guy who had been in third. He gained alot, but just missed catching him. Turns out the other guy had cut into the race after a half mile to a mile. The guy who won, was from Australia and knew to turn from his strava. Still a tough call, when the leaders go straight. The point being, cheaters can have a big impact. This bandit cost the guy who would have won to finish second. (he handled it with much class and maturity for a youngster) If the bandit had'nt just stopped the original co-leader would have kept going with him for longer. CRAZY! Yes, the race should have had someone at that corner to make sure the leaders turned.

I don’t think FM is capable of going straight (on any course).

Perhaps I'm missing something. wrote:

doubler wrote:

Frank shows up on the course in 3017_610085.

I think there’s a good possibility that those photos are of Frank. But I don’t think hi-res will help. Very blurry and can’t follow the figure onto the course.

It wouldn't need to show him jumping back in to the course would it?, if he's there around 10 minutes before he's shown a few yards up the road in 3017_610085 with #1148, a 2:53:34 finisher, then Frank would've run another out of this world world record to get from 35k to 40k. He's run across the 35k mat, driven to the next spot by his accomplice and had time to spare to get psyched up for a big finish, after all, he's got 2k to negotiate.

The photo is so blurry, without being able to follow the photos sequentially, until he appears on the course, we can’t prove 100% it’s him.

Personally, we’ve proven Phoenix and LA 2019 without a doubt. Time to work backwards and nail down some more with the same level of certainty.

To me, the KTLA video by itself proves LAM 2018. Especially with what has been uncovered from LAM 2019.

okay already wrote:

He's 70 years old. How much impact will revealing his transgressions to his employer have? Will he retire a month earlier? Come on. At his age, this won't matter. This may matter a lot to runners, but it isn't going to matter much to outside of that circle, and even less when you consider he probably doesn't have any time at all left in the workforce. Sorry.

no, your peabrain can't comprehend that his fake effort, which won't count, would parallel with the top masters in the world. this is a 3:30 hobby jogger like yourself, it's the big time at that age. do try to think before you touch the keypad.

Bad reviews linked to his marathon cheating are starting to show up in Health Grades and Vitals.com. That should get his attention

I read the 2 reviews that obviously came from posters from this thread. They were absurd. They looked like letters from a jilted lover. They went beyond stating "he cheated". They seemed to be trying to convince someone that FM was a cheater at marathons, a person who was just trying to get info about a doctor, These go on a permanent record. These does no honor to us runners. "Creepy" would apply to this kind of behavior.

word of advice wrote:

this is a 3:30 hobby jogger like yourself

Whoa hold on, let's not go crazy here. Frank ain't running no 3:30. I doubt he could run a 4:30 in a legitimate effort.

Googlerperson wrote:

Bad reviews linked to his marathon cheating are starting to show up in Health Grades and Vitals.com. That should get his attention

Sure. What do you call it when you shorten the career of a 70 year old that is probably overdue for retirement already. You call it doing him a favor. LOL.

okay already wrote:

But to most people (i.e.: non-runners), they aren't going to understand this as much more than a mild curiousity. If he were a world record holder at an age representative of Olympians, then yes, they would really care. But most people aren't going to think that a 70 year old who cuts the course on a marathon is all that big a sin.

Gonna have to strongly disagree here. You don't have to be a non-runner to understand how f-ed up cutting the course and cheating in a marathon is. It's not like only cyclists understand how immoral all the things Lance Armstrong did were. Especially with FM taking away winning age group winners and podium spots from their rightful awards, most anyone could understand and care that he is doing this.

word of advice wrote:

okay already wrote:

He's 70 years old. How much impact will revealing his transgressions to his employer have? Will he retire a month earlier? Come on. At his age, this won't matter. This may matter a lot to runners, but it isn't going to matter much to outside of that circle, and even less when you consider he probably doesn't have any time at all left in the workforce. Sorry.

no, your peabrain can't comprehend that his fake effort, which won't count, would parallel with the top masters in the world. this is a 3:30 hobby jogger like yourself, it's the big time at that age. do try to think before you touch the keypad.

"word of advice" - you're being a d!ck. The guys you're attacking probably agrees with you for the most part, and is being civil. Is it really necessary to throw personal insults at anybody who disagrees with you to the slightest degree?

How many instances have there been where someone has sued an RD (or race) over a DQ and won? What were the damages?

And first we have contestant Number 4. wrote:

Faraway wrote:

My paste button must have stuck.

This is the fourth placed guy. Note 70 years old and based in California. Sounds a formidable fella too from his resume' if he decided to take on L.A. Marathon.

https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=7411901&privcapId=7690739

Like most, he probably doesn't give a sh!t either.

You keep clinging to your "participation" medals though.

Roderick Powell wrote:

I read the 2 reviews that obviously came from posters from this thread. They were absurd. They looked like letters from a jilted lover. They went beyond stating "he cheated". They seemed to be trying to convince someone that FM was a cheater at marathons, a person who was just trying to get info about a doctor, These go on a permanent record. These does no honor to us runners. "Creepy" would apply to this kind of behavior.

doubler's work, perhaps?

Frank's keeping schtum and his head down til this all goes away, this thread is in its death throes and the Frank cheating story hasn't gone viral , so looks like he's going to get his way.

Caveman Lawyer wrote:

RossiCheated wrote:

I’m sure we all generally agree that races are hesitant to DQ because they fear legal ramifications (a defamation suit). I’d love to see the age-group runner-up tell them, “Apply your rules, DQ him and name me as winner or I’ll see you in court.” I know I’d consider that and I know a dozen lawyers who would file for me pro bono because they would find it entertaining.

The runner-up would have standing, the race owes him a duty to care, that duty is being breached in my opinion, there are damages, etc. I think it’s a viable suit.

How many instances have there been where someone has sued an RD (or race) over a DQ and won? What were the damages?

There are probably no such cases, which is why my friends would take it on for free. And the lack of such cases wouldn’t decrease the likelihood of prevailing by one iota. It’s negligent to fail to apply your own rules in the face of such compelling evidence. And being an age group champ at a big city marathon has value, even if only $1 would be awarded. To the person denied a rightful award, value is real although determining a dollar figure could be challenging and would probably be low. But you couldn’t claim the person who was cheated wasn’t damaged.

And on the topic of legal issues...

Our boy Frank has no shot in a defamation case. He’s a public figure so he’d have to show that the accusations of cheating are false AND that such accusations were made with actual malice (a blatant disregard for the truth). Good luck with that. A trial, which would never occur, would just be a parade of evidence that he cheats. He’d get crushed.

I thought most races (if not all races) have all runners sign all kinds of waivers. I believe this includes our ability to sue. (certainly for something of this nature)