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

I was about 14 seconds. I just wasn’t really paying attention. Maybe after I hear who it was it will jolt my memory.

Q. Who was the starter?

A. WGAF.

JustGene wrote:

A few things have changed in that schedule, and one is that I will probably accept Toronto's kind invitation granting me elite status for the race so that I can repeat my attempt there. I'll skip the Mountain Lakes 100, and I'm on the fence about the J&J 100K three weeks before Toronto, although it would make a nice "long run" for my marathon training.

Gene, my advice for running longevity, give away the ultra stuff.

Ummmm,

Back to cheater Frank Meza;

The guy is an evil genius and a master of diversion and logistics.

Bicycles, confederate runners, numbers spun around, skipped mats, 25 minute 5k splits!!!!(ha, must have actually taken a wrong turn on the bike),

Used to be you just lined up for a marathon, and hoped your wife would still be there at the finish, fending off ennui, to pick you up....

Meza has taken it to a new level.

My hat is off to you!

Now move on. wrote:

Q. Who was the starter?

A. WGAF.

Don't embarrass yourself. People were questioning if it really was Gene posting replies. Only the people at the front of the pack at the start of the Haddonfield 5k would know who was giving them directions as he moved backwards closer to the finish line.

This reminds me of a race I ran in Newark, NJ in the Portuguese section. The race starter was Carlos Lopes. Do you even know who he was?

Now move on...

So the whole premise of whether the person posting as Gene Dykes really is Gene Dykes is based on whether he can identify who the starter was?, if so, this would indicate that you're a friggin idiot.

There's always one. :( wrote:

So the whole premise of whether the person posting as Gene Dykes really is Gene Dykes is based on whether he can identify who the starter was?, if so, this would indicate that you're a friggin idiot.

Did you mother teach you to speak like that? It was a very recent occurrence where most of the front runners would know who it was, especially in light of people questioning if if really was Gene who was replying here on this thread. If you have a more constructive way of confirming his identity, then please share it with us all.

Otherwise, continue to be a douche.

I merely saw that G.D. is well present on FB and that he posts about his upcoming race plans, so did not go far enough to see if he mentions F.M. as I did not yet 'friend' G.D. on F.B.

It looks like it might be G.D. on letsrun, but not certain either.

The whole F.M. saga is getting more interesting by the day. When will F.M. actually come out and make a statement ? That might help.

Ghost in China

If it's really you, GD, you will know the answer... wrote:

There's always one. :( wrote:

So the whole premise of whether the person posting as Gene Dykes really is Gene Dykes is based on whether he can identify who the starter was?, if so, this would indicate that you're a friggin idiot.

Did you mother teach you to speak like that? It was a very recent occurrence where most of the front runners would know who it was, especially in light of people questioning if if really was Gene who was replying here on this thread. If you have a more constructive way of confirming his identity, then please share it with us all.

Otherwise, continue to be a douche.

You would appear to be the only person obsessed about whether the person posting as Gene Dykes really is Gene Dykes, so yeah, the suggestion to move on is a good one. Alternatively, you could start an appropriate Gene Dykes thread which would enable you to fantasize to your hearts content (and stop you disrupting this one) I think you'd be the only poster though.

I am a regular poster on the weekly Road Racing and Training Thread. As I documented several weeks ago in that thread, I too, raced the Adrenaline 5k. I can 100% attest that Gene was there through eye witness account.

I can also vouch that, even had I not seen him personally, only an attendee of that race could supply the information that he did: the wheelchair runners were (at the very last minute) lined up specifically to the right side of the start; the race results were posted on the courtyard brick wall on the right side; etc.

The guy posting is Gene.

Meza.

Cheater.

Marathon.

Obvious.

Bueller?

Bueller?

Anybody?

My advice for what it's worth. wrote:

Gene, my advice for running longevity, give away the ultra stuff.

Oh great, advice from a random anonymous guy on the internet. Giving advice to a guy who runs 2:54 marathons at age 70. Gee Gene, better listen to this guy!

Moran.

The Stone Cutter wrote:

I am a regular poster on the weekly Road Racing and Training Thread. As I documented several weeks ago in that thread, I too, raced the Adrenaline 5k. I can 100% attest that Gene was there through eye witness account.

I can also vouch that, even had I not seen him personally, only an attendee of that race could supply the information that he did: the wheelchair runners were (at the very last minute) lined up specifically to the right side of the start; the race results were posted on the courtyard brick wall on the right side; etc.

The guy posting is Gene.

I didn't read the 'Road Racing and Training' thread but if he said that using the JUST GENE username, then yes, I would agree that it is him posting on this thread. Just so there is no misunderstanding, I only asked the question I did because some people on this thread didn't really believe it was him (even though I did). I hope all the overtly obnoxious people aren't really like this in their daily lives. How sad that would be.

Alright, let's lay off the "is Gene Dykes the real Gene Dykes" subject. That is entirely secondary to the subject of the this discussion, which is, did Frank Meza cheat.

Interestingly, I think Gene Dykes's performances can contribute to the discussion. Here are his 5K splits from 2018 Toronto Marathon in which he ran a near-record 2:55:17 (I can't find any splits from the Jacksonville Marathon where he got the record):

20:48, 20:42, 20:47, (there was no mat at 20k, but the 10K from 15K to 25K was 41:27 - so basically the exact same pace, averaging 20:43.5 per 5k), 20:45, 20:41, 20:56

taking a guess at the 5k splits in his middle 10k, that gives us:

20:48, 20:42, 20:47, 20:40, 20:47, 20:45, 20:41, 20:56

Not bad pacing, I must say. Maybe 15-20 seconds variation between the fastest and slowest 5k splits.

Do you see a picture emerging? Basically, to almost get a WR for his age, he ran almost exactly even pace, with a microscopic fade at the end.

OK, change to a higher gear. Here are Eliud Kipchoge's 5k splits from his 2:01:39 in Berlin:

14:24, 14:37, 14:37, 14:18, 14:28, 14:21, 14:16, 14:31

So, same thing. A 21-second variation between fastest and slowest 5k splits for this otherworldly performance.

Note that to get these times, both runners had almost flawless races. No stopping to take a dump, no slowing down and speeding up and slowing down again and speeding up again.

Here are Frank Meza's 5k splits from his LA Marathon performances:

2015: 20:47, 19:03, 20:28, 25:01, 18:34, 19:22, 21:28, 18:30 (chip time 2:52:47)

2016: no result

2017: 20:24, 20:28, 20:48, 21:13, 20:11, 20:35, 23:37, 20:25 (chip time 2:57:30)

2018: 20:32, 18:55, 22:03, 21:45, 19:39, 24:13, 19:44, 19:51 (chip time 2:56:12)

2019: 20:02, 20:17, 20:33, 21:21, 20:02, 21:23, 20:44, 19:47 (chip time 2:53:10)

Some years are definitely more extreme than others, but all are suspect. All have at least one severe increase/decrease in pace.

If you don't see anything odd about those splits, I'm reminded of the Jan Ullrich quote about doping in cycling: "Whoever still can't put one and one together about what happened in cycling is beyond my help".

Its egun wrote:

The guy is an evil genius and a master of diversion and logistics.

Bicycles, confederate runners, numbers spun around, skipped mats, 25 minute 5k splits!!!!(ha, must have actually taken a wrong turn on the bike),

Yes, the logistics of someone over 60 years old running a medical practice, being an assistant coach and then bicycling and driving around to ~25 sub 3:10 (~11 sub 3:00) marathons in various cities is amazing. And then to finish shorter races along side persons with similar marathon capabilities shows the tremendous planning.

If he was cheating, he would be an evil genuis as you suggested.

Plotting, and scheming and pulling others into this web,

What a guy !

He has seri-arse wily ways...!

He acts a lot like the many physicians I have managed over the last 30 years.

Just when you think you are pretty smart.....

The smartest dude in the room is the doc,

Don’t kid yourself.

Its egun wrote:

Plotting, and scheming and pulling others into this web,

What a guy !

He has seri-arse wily ways...!

Yes, if you look at this video, you will find out about his wily ways:

Mark,

I fully understand what Dr. Meza means to his community.

The reason there are 300 posts regarding him is that despite all that he chooses to do for the positive, he feels the absolute need to cheat in the marathons he runs.

That what makes all of this so intriguing.

And so sad.

Such a case study.

Its egun wrote:

Mark,

I fully understand what Dr. Meza means to his community.

The reason there are 300 posts regarding him is that despite all that he chooses to do for the positive, he feels the absolute need to cheat in the marathons he runs.

That what makes all of this so intriguing.

And so sad.

Such a case study.

Since he’s relatively consistent in his last 25 marathons, he is either capable of those times or he’s cheating pretty much in every race. If he is cheating, then he’s doing it in the shorter races as well including the relay race and his last 10k.

If there is real evidence of him cheating in so many races, such as by cutting the course or jumping on a bicycle or in a car or sharing his bib, I’m sure someone will post it.