Potentially Suspicious Runner To Run 836 Miles in 9 Days for "Charity"

Another thing to note from the photo is that Dave was not wearing the typical neoprene strap you see for runners who are using a mobile to track their results. Again it is possible that he had a mobile in his shorts however, looking at the shorts I cannot see any obvious signs that he had anything in his pockets.

The other point to note is that he is clearly wearing a TomTom running watch. Although we cannot clearly see the display it is unlikely that anyone would wear a TomTom running watch during a run / race and NOT use it to record run / race times.

If my memory serves me well, I am sure I read somewhere that the Reading's stated the now revoked dubious 3:12 result came from a mobile app he used to time his marathon.?

There are so many inconsistencies in their statements....

At VMLM, he sent Neil - who really *didn't* coach him - a text, saying "On start line, coach". Just that, no photo. Very strange.

He then attempted to justify his non-time as being due to special forces personnel never having their times recorded for security reasons. He is not, never has been, never will be, special forces. He is a deluded Walter Mitty.

Still, he must have learnt his leasson, as he appears to be training hard. He's been out and about in the countryside in the last few weeks, wearing one of his 10 free pairs of Hokas that he got for LeFarce:

https://www.facebook.com/endtoendrunningchallenge/photos/pcb.660947794109051/660947107442453/?type=3&theater

Shite Hawk wrote:

At VMLM, he sent Neil - who really *didn't* coach him - a text, saying "On start line, coach". Just that, no photo. Very strange.

Interesting...I can't see his mobile anywhere in the photo I downloaded. Where did he keep his phone? Do you know what the time the text was sent / received? The mass start is at 10AM and most runners get into their allotted pen around 10-20 minutes before the start. If the text was sent before 09:40 I would hazard a guess that he was in the general pre-race muster areas (Red for him on that day) and he *could* of sent the text whilst there and then placed the phone in his bag on the baggage truck. If it was after 09:40 he'd of likely been stood in his starting pen (Pen 3). It is highly unlikely that he would of come out of Pen 3, reclaimed his bag, put the phone in the bag, placed it back on the baggage truck and got back into Pen 3.!

YorkieCoach wrote:

Given that there are few helpers / marshals there and there are so many runners it is highly unlikely that any helper / marshal would spot a runner with a missing timing chip.

The only thing that the marshals check is at the entry point to the various start areas, where they ensure that you have a valid running bib. There is neither time nor inclination to check for timing tags. You forget your tag, you don't get a time, simple as.

The only thing that the marshals check is at the entry point to the various start areas, where they ensure that you have a valid running bib. There is neither time nor inclination to check for timing tags. You forget your tag, you don't get a time, simple as.

Yep, that is exactly my experience of London Marathon...there is zero chance that any marshal will have time to check your trainers for chips. It's just a quick check of your race number to confirm you're allowed in the pre-race muster point, and again as you enter your pen to make sure you're not trying to sneak in a faster pen.

That's the only checks that I've seen in the three times I've ran London and the 5 times I've been there as a coach.

OK it may well not be on a list of things to check but the fact that it might be noticed and commented on by anyone is sufficient reason to have it on your shoe before the start as it can be disposed of fairly easily and also at the end you can simply tell the chip retrieval people it came off as the ties are there.

The reason they didn't say it was a lost chip in their excuses is that it stretches credulity even more than "malfunctioning chip" to have lost it before the start.

ExpertKipWatcher wrote:

OK it may well not be on a list of things to check but the fact that it might be noticed and commented on by anyone is sufficient reason to have it on your shoe before the start as it can be disposed of fairly easily and also at the end you can simply tell the chip retrieval people it came off as the ties are there.

The reason they didn't say it was a lost chip in their excuses is that it stretches credulity even more than "malfunctioning chip" to have lost it before the start.

The chips in 2016 were single-use, they weren't removed at the end.

I would like a clear explanation from 'the Readings' as to why they stated the chip was malfunctioning when it is clear that Dave was not wearing a timing chip. Why fabricate a narrative stating you're timing chip was faulty when you weren't wearing one? Explain please..

If the timing chip had fallen off before he started then the chip removal bods at the end would notice and say something. A malfunctioning chip would require the runner to be wearing the chip and this, as the photo clearly shows, was not the case.

I sent Dave, Terrie, and Coach Paul this email yesterday asking them about the missing timing chip, but don't expect them to respond since they seem to be giving me the silent treatment:

https://justpaste.it/18tdu

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for the response. My spider sense is telling me that they'll not respond as the photo undermines their narrative that Dave was WEARING a faulty timing chip.

As the photo clearly show's Dave wearing a TomTom GPS enabled sports watch I expect that it would be relatively easy for them to provide GPS data to support there statement that Dave ran the whole race (especially as Terrie has already stated that she provided VLM with the same information).

Providing the GPS data would put this to bed and clear his name (or not) as it would be relatively simple to analyse the data and determine if the full course was followed and cross reference the data with other runners who were running a similar pace to see if he appears in the same photo's as them.

YorkieCoach wrote:

If the timing chip had fallen off before he started then the chip removal bods at the end would notice and say something.

Yorkie, see my above post: the chips were one-use and were not required to be removed in the finish area, as was previously the case.

YorkieCoach wrote:

Here's the link to the dropbox folder containing the photo I bought....

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gypgvpuhd1tjhcd/AABDKhVjnKaz6C1GfrT_jZ8Aa?dl=0

It could be that he never wore the chip, the chip came off BEFORE he crossed the line (it is quite congested at the start and can take up to 30 minutes to reach the start)...

The one thing the photo does appear to show is that he was not wearing the timing chip near the finish and that he does appear to have the timing chip wires attached under the laces of his right trainer.

As to why this is...well only Dave Reading can truly answer this.

What time did those other runners in that photo finish in? I am not being funny but those two ladies just behind look a fair bit slower than 4.19.

OK let us assume the following are facts...

1. For some reason Dave's timing chip fell off his trainer BEFORE he crossed the start line.

2. He then ran the whole course but wasn't picked up on any of the timing mats due to the lost chip.

3. Dave recorded his run on the GPS enabled TomTom sports watch he was photographed wearing.

This leaves me with the following questions that I would like answers to…

I. Why did Terrie state that Dave's timing chip malfunctioned? Surely she would simply state that the chip had fallen off before he crossed the start.

ii. Where did the finish time come from? Given there was no timing chip on his trainers how did London marathon determine he’d crossed the finish line 4h:19m:38 after the mass start?

iii. Given Dave was wearing a GPS enabled TomTom sports watch and has stated that the GPS data was provided to VLM why hasn’t this been shared on here? Sharing this would put an end to all the speculation.

These are valid questions that I feel need answering so we can bring full closure to the VLM result debate.

[quoteWhat time did those other runners in that photo finish in? I am not being funny but those two ladies just behind look a fair bit slower than 4.19.[/quote]

36606 finished in 04:07:50 and took 11:03 to cross the start line (gun time would be 04:18:53.

http://imgur.com/a/WpxiL wrote:

no chip no time wrote:

If you zoom right in on the right shoe you can see the two turquoise cable ties issued by the race, one at the top of his foot with a bit sticking up, and one lower down his foot. They are plastic ties you twist.

He clearly had no intention of wearing it

I believe he wore it when going in to his time group corral to await the start in case he got noticed and picked up by an official/helper, (would have had to have had it on him, too risky otherwise). He'd probably already made sure it was inoperative and then just ripped it off and carried it in shorts pocket or somewhere, could've even thrown it away once in his corral.

Circled parts are chip cable ties?

http://imgur.com/a/WpxiL

Yes, they could well be the ties as I remember they were that color.

Just bits of wire with plastic on that you twist.

So yes, likely he wore chip to get into the start area then just removed it.

No way he crossed the start line with a chip on as his time was manually entered by London to be 10am and two seconds. No way he'd be stood with his toes on the start line to go off with the gun.

So looks like the chip never went near the race route.

So the scam was likely centred around obtaining forged TomTom data.

He always planned to say chip didn't work and had fake data set up.

I don't think he would know how, so must have got a friend to tamper with some data for him.

Sorry Terrie and Dave, but it's really not that hard to investigate this, which is why you always refused to let us see the fake data you sent Scott!!!

Admitting he wore no chip means London would simply have not issued a time.

If your chip falls off, then tough luck.

So had they told London this, they would just have been told to get lost!

London must have checked his finishing photos and worked out he crossed at 4:19. That's all i can think of, as Dave sure didn't want that time, he claimed the 3:12.

But he can't run a 4:19, so even that was cheated.

Likely cut back at half way, jumping the barrier.

YorkieCoach wrote:

Another thing to note from the photo is that Dave was not wearing the typical neoprene strap you see for runners who are using a mobile to track their results. Again it is possible that he had a mobile in his shorts however, looking at the shorts I cannot see any obvious signs that he had anything in his pockets.

The other point to note is that he is clearly wearing a TomTom running watch. Although we cannot clearly see the display it is unlikely that anyone would wear a TomTom running watch during a run / race and NOT use it to record run / race times.

If my memory serves me well, I am sure I read somewhere that the Reading's stated the now revoked dubious 3:12 result came from a mobile app he used to time his marathon.?

There are so many inconsistencies in their statements....

He claims he wore a TomTom and sent the data to Scott who cleared it.

But Terrie has always refused to let US see it, so i don't think it was genuine, but doctored data.

HE claims he thought he did a 3:12 as that was what his phone app showed....despite finishing under a MASSIVE clock! And despite no sign he had a phone on him!

ExpertKipWatcher wrote:

OK it may well not be on a list of things to check but the fact that it might be noticed and commented on by anyone is sufficient reason to have it on your shoe before the start as it can be disposed of fairly easily and also at the end you can simply tell the chip retrieval people it came off as the ties are there.

The reason they didn't say it was a lost chip in their excuses is that it stretches credulity even more than "malfunctioning chip" to have lost it before the start.

Yes, i think he wore it too, to get to the start corral, just in case it was checked.

There is no chip retrieval at London, you keep them.

They could never say it was lost....NO CHIP NO TIME. Say it came off and London wouldn't want to know.

YorkieCoach wrote:

I would like a clear explanation from 'the Readings' as to why they stated the chip was malfunctioning when it is clear that Dave was not wearing a timing chip. Why fabricate a narrative stating you're timing chip was faulty when you weren't wearing one? Explain please..

If the timing chip had fallen off before he started then the chip removal bods at the end would notice and say something. A malfunctioning chip would require the runner to be wearing the chip and this, as the photo clearly shows, was not the case.

Because saying you wore no chip wouldn't allow you to scam London into giving you a time by supplying fake TomTom data. No chip no time.

So they faked it being "broken".

No-one checks chips at the end. They LOOK like the ones that are used again, but aren't. They are single use and you keep them. I keep mine as souvenirs.