Another run across America underway - is it legit? Boots currently on the ground

Meanwhile, another Transcon incoming on March 1st... going for Kostelnick's WR, even though Pete takes 50 miles out of the guy [Paul Johnson] for the 24 hour race. Johnson ran 39 hours at Mont Blanc to the winner's 19, to indicate his quality.

He's looking to reduce the record from 42 days to 40 at 75 miles a day in 13-15 hour days. Nothing about the mission is remotely possible or credible, but any questioning of it is dismissed with withering sarcasm and hostility.

But of course the fundraising is now up to a goal of a million dollars [who knows how much of that goes to expenses], and sponsors jumping in because they love how many followers he has. Basically, in the world of influencing it's now a case of say what you want - that's the way to attract the most money. In this case it's a 2:45 marathoner saying he's going to run 2:05.

Will be fun to watch though, and the guy always has a rock steady pulse so we can compare that to Balenger and Goodge always collapsing to 105 when they speed up in the second half of days. And maybe he can find 9 mile stretches in 80 mins like WG did...

One to watch and he is going to be tracked.

This guy?
That is so not happening. With just 116 miles in 24 hours he has zero abilities to even come close. He probably won't even get through the first 2 weeks.

pauljohnson.run

Paul Johnson

@pauijohnson

Running LA to NYC (March 2024). More miles, more smiles. Ultra runner, Naval Officer.

Link:www.pauljohnson.run/

ultrasignup.com

Paul Johnson's Results

Link:ultrasignup.com/m_results_participant....

Season 2 of Transcon. New lead character.

Vital statistics:

Instagram followers:

WG 164K
PJ 156K

Marathon PB:

WG 2:58
PJ 2:46

Ultra pedigree:

WG 35 hours at MDS to the winner's 18
PH 39 hours at Mont Blanc to the winner's 19

Transcon aims:

WG UK record of 52 days, "ran" 55
PJ World record of 42, aim 40.

Heart rate comparisons:

WG 98k at 7:36k at 100bpm; 112k at 7:52k at 111bpm
PJ 175k at 13:18k at 139bpm; 210k at 8:30k at 136pbm

Looking at his body, it sounds like it will be the same as season 1.

he has exactly zero chance of succeeding but at least the fundraising looks legit…or it does do me at first glance anyway, although it probably warrants a more thorough check.

I will start by believing that they will complete the Transcon, I tend to want people to succeed over adversity. A slight doubt is there but that's a good thing from a story point of view. Records seem like a dream rather than a reality and I hope they don't stop just because they set an impossible goal.

I don't think we will get any stone throwing this time round. That would be too much to ask for. Something similar would be interesting for us though.

Yes, would be good if he just had a good romp in low 50 days. Clearly a very competent and hard-working runner, but 40 is total delusion. The equiv, as noted above, of changing a 2.45 marathon into 2.05.

As with WG he is completely hemmed in. WG by painting the side of the van. They were certain they were gonna smash it and had no plan B. Here he has pretty much 40 days leave from the Navy, and that's it. So it could all be over rather swiftly. He has tried really long runs like Mont Blanc and runnng to Boston and back [dnf] and they've always been a disaster.

The fund raiser looks like it goes directly to RWB I think, and not Gofundme. This is good. Still no sign of WGs missing 50k.

Just like with the other transcon guy, this part cracks me up. I've seen some surprisingly muscular guys run in the 2:30s for marathons. I witnessed a guy that looked like a real deal sprinter run a 25 min 8k once and was very, very impressed. But sustaining an effort for 25 min – 3 hours is an entirely different ballpark from 40 whole-ass days. I blame social media's whole "grind culture/anything is possible" mindset that they all try to sell you.

I'm enjoying the spinoff series. There's ANOTHER Brit "running" the length of Africa, but he only posts his Strava every week or so, though he posts his YouTube videos with no problems. Again, not a good runner.

He is planning a book and has a documentary on the go. No motive at all to commit fraud. None.

His HR, cadence and slow pace stack up, but I can't see any bona-fide explanation for why the Strava takes so long to put up, apart from it taking time to fake.

Check out @hardestgeezer

He's dissuading people from coming running with him and asking people to join him for a sponsors day in London instead...

Set a finish date of April 7 - that's him doing 63km a day when he's only been doing 50 for the last month. Something ain't right.

These excuses are hilarious….

telegraph.co.uk

Editor at running magazine in cheating row after posting ‘misleading’ marathon times

Kate Carter, acting commissioning editor of Runner’s World UK, regrets ‘errors in judgment’ but says ‘I am not a cheat’

Link:www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/05/ed...

Some will struggle with the paywall, but here's the main gist:

Addressing the half marathon anomaly, she said she had “very unfortunately and embarrassingly had wet myself and wanted therefore to step off the course to try and sort myself out” which is “something that happens to many runners”.
“When I rejoined the race, it is possible that I did so at the wrong point on the course, though that was not my intention,” she added, insisting that “I made some stupid mistakes in how I recorded my times on my personal Strava record” but that she “was in no way trying to deceive the organisers of either event about my times”.

-----------------

But it all taps into what this thread is about: runfluencing, ego [as KC herself readily admits] and tampering with Strava to gain kudos for false runs.

The documentary about cheating in endurance sport is now all be certain to be made, with yesses from three of the biggest guns around. Five people have died going for the WR for scuba diving depth, but like with my experience, Guinness just refuse to cooperate with the deep flaws in their invigilations in any way. They might start getting asked some very hard questions soon, and my dealings with them on the fake Jogle record was nothing but a nightmare.

S'all kicking off... Oddly, the Hardest Geezer and the World record for Transcon are due to finish within 48 hours of each other. This thread will hopefully keep both efforts honest and true.

That’s very good news about the documentary! I’m happy to see your noble efforts bearing fruit. Kudos and congratulations!

Classic. Make an excuse that pushes back to make you feel bad for saying she cheated!

I'm surprised she didn't say "I was writing an article on cheating Strava data and used my own runs to see if it was possible to get away with it. Well done on catching me, you proved it was not easy"

Interestingly in his latest podcast appearance WG says the JOGLE video is no longer on Youtube as the rights got pulled down as it was through a sponsor.

That Jogle of 2019 is where all this began for WG. A total novice and he expected to be able to do Jogle in 14 days. He was inspired by Balenger's Transcon [largely all done off an HR of 105 after some horror early days] and flies him over as a consultant and coach for what must be significant expense. He completely collapses on days 2-4 with a return very similar to his California DNF. This is day 4... an HR of just 88 for the day. Just once does his pulse rise above 102.

If you englarge the map you'll see he for a long swim in Loch Garry, or is walking on water, and why on earth are the going round Garry anyway for the extra 15k? At half-way round it they clearly hop in the car and drive 7k back to the main road, with a dead straight line and the blob jumping the loch in 40-odd seconds.

strava.com

JOGLE Day 4 - William G's 54.2 km run

William G ran 54.2 km on Aug 21, 2019.

Link:www.strava.com/activities/3532313679/l...

After this horror day of 54k in 13:28, he bounced back with 11 days of high class multidaying with no more problems - all off an HR of about 105. [Day 1 was 139bpm - spot on for a normal effort.] **For the last 9 miles of the day his pulse never rises above 72!

The modus operandi for Transcon was all four years in the making, hence how polished it was and why they were so dead certain they'd take down Tulloh.