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

sneakers is a shill wrote:

recruiter57 wrote:

I have really tried to just keep quiet on this but I just can’t any longer! Here we have someone, a Navy man, who is attempting something incredible for 2 wonderful causes. But there are now 161 pages with mostly negative knock-downs and ridicules. WHY?
Is he going to set the record? No. Does that mean he’s a failure? Absolutely not! How many of you commenting here have attempted this? How many of you would attempt to put themselves out there in this very public way? How many of you would try to raise a million dollars with little more than your feet, a crew and social media?

How about not tearing PJ down and perhaps we can try to cheer him on and provide support? Is that even possible on this overly cynical thread?

“Why don’t you run across America?” is such a boring, tedious, completely no thought retort to people being (justly) critical.

Paul doesn’t need our support, he’s the best ultra runner of all time.

frothrippah wrote:

recruiter57 wrote:

I have really tried to just keep quiet on this but I just can’t any longer! Here we have someone, a Navy man, who is attempting something incredible for 2 wonderful causes. But there are now 161 pages with mostly negative knock-downs and ridicules. WHY?
Is he going to set the record? No. Does that mean he’s a failure? Absolutely not! How many of you commenting here have attempted this? How many of you would attempt to put themselves out there in this very public way? How many of you would try to raise a million dollars with little more than your feet, a crew and social media?

How about not tearing PJ down and perhaps we can try to cheer him on and provide support? Is that even possible on this overly cynical thread?

There are 161 pages of ridicules because of the immense disrespect Paul showed to the ultra community in setting out on this project. To think he could waltz in and beat one of the greats reminds me of that guy Max Deutsch who thought he could study for a month and beat Magnus Carlsen in chess. You don't need to be a Grandmaster to laugh at that, anyone who is decent at chess knows how stratospherically impossible that would be. Likewise, you don't need to have completed a transcon or be an elite ultrarunner to laugh at Paul. Kostelnick had incredible natural talent and put in decades of training and racing to make 42 days. He even got some luck along the way. Paul just doesn't have the body of work to even think about the record.

Anyone here could have accomplished what Paul has. I could blast social media for a month about how I'm going to run a sub 2 marathon. I could run the 4:34 pace for maybe a mile, slow back to 3hr pace while blaming "calories" or something, and then shift the goalposts to the charity I hadn't mentioned in all of the buildup. If I was Kelvin Kiptum, you wouldn't laugh at that because the attempt would be credible. But if my previous PR was a 3:30, you would be right to piss on me on the internet. You might even feel disrespected that I thought I could beat the greats, especially if you had worked for years to even BQ and knew how insane that would be.

So it really doesn't even matter if he is cheating or not. But if he is, we damn well will expose it given the clowning that lead up to this farce.

Irritated wrote:

recruiter57 wrote:

I have really tried to just keep quiet on this but I just can’t any longer! Here we have someone, a Navy man, who is attempting something incredible for 2 wonderful causes. But there are now 161 pages with mostly negative knock-downs and ridicules. WHY?
Is he going to set the record? No. Does that mean he’s a failure? Absolutely not! How many of you commenting here have attempted this? How many of you would attempt to put themselves out there in this very public way? How many of you would try to raise a million dollars with little more than your feet, a crew and social media?

How about not tearing PJ down and perhaps we can try to cheer him on and provide support? Is that even possible on this overly cynical thread?

Because he’s a punk with a crappy attitude hiding behind a charity

recruiter57 wrote:

frothrippah wrote:

There are 161 pages of ridicules because of the immense disrespect Paul showed to the ultra community in setting out on this project. To think he could waltz in and beat one of the greats reminds me of that guy Max Deutsch who thought he could study for a month and beat Magnus Carlsen in chess. You don't need to be a Grandmaster to laugh at that, anyone who is decent at chess knows how stratospherically impossible that would be. Likewise, you don't need to have completed a transcon or be an elite ultrarunner to laugh at Paul. Kostelnick had incredible natural talent and put in decades of training and racing to make 42 days. He even got some luck along the way. Paul just doesn't have the body of work to even think about the record.

Anyone here could have accomplished what Paul has. I could blast social media for a month about how I'm going to run a sub 2 marathon. I could run the 4:34 pace for maybe a mile, slow back to 3hr pace while blaming "calories" or something, and then shift the goalposts to the charity I hadn't mentioned in all of the buildup. If I was Kelvin Kiptum, you wouldn't laugh at that because the attempt would be credible. But if my previous PR was a 3:30, you would be right to piss on me on the internet. You might even feel disrespected that I thought I could beat the greats, especially if you had worked for years to even BQ and knew how insane that would be.

So it really doesn't even matter if he is cheating or not. But if he is, we damn well will expose it given the clowning that lead up to this farce.

If it doesn't matter if he is cheating, why the uproar on here about his efforts? He isn't going to break the record. Clearly this was much more difficult that he realized and I know he has admitted that over and over again. Based on his current mileage I'll be surprised if he beats 50 days which became the secondary goal. So what? If he does it in 55 or 60 or 70 but he raises awareness for mental health and raises a lot of money for Team RWB, how about we applaud that?

If you think he is cheating, then go to his route and monitor it yourself. They've given an open invitation of any time any where. I know I will be joining him for several miles when he runs through Missouri. I'll be doing it to support him and his efforts.

Mantraman wrote:

Ok I’ve gone down the rabbit hole, I’m hooked on this story, been checking in every day. Here’s my theory:
I’ve come to believe PJ is kind of a dummy, just not a super bright guy. He apparently barely sleeps, he eats junk, and he runs a lot. And he has some sort of insatiable need to show off and try to stand out. His mental health may not be great.

He’s obviously in over his head with the wr boasting and the attention that brought him. I believe him that he wasn’t taking in enough calories those first few days because the planning seems to have been so poor, on so many levels. My guess is that in an attempt to get him more calories, as they entered increasingly remote stretches, he ran alongside the van and they fed him. This would very easily lend itself to leaning on the van, using it for support. And leaning on the van let’s him say he’s still on his feet the whole time. (Maybe just a quick sit to adjust gear while it rolls on…) It starts to add up and it would be so easy to do. This while his incentive to be perfect is gone (Guinness isn’t gonna check it now).

The absolute hubris and downfall we’re watching here has been fascinating to watch. The funny thing is, is that the people who think they can change the world are the ones who do, but the ones who do are just a subset. Most of the people who think they can change the world are just dummys.

no you're wrong wrote:

recruiter57 wrote:

I'm pretty sure I've heard him say numerous times that he's just a normal guy trying to do some good.

Dismissing the 'have you done it' question is such an easy way to divert from the actual question...have you done it? If you have then you'd be able to share your examples of how you did the various elements of the endeavor rather than simply trying to tear down someone else's efforts. Is there any positivity in you sneakers?

The whole "Have you done it?" argument only makes sense if and only if they ever had a reasonable chance at doing it.

Like, if I watch Lyles miss the 200m world record by a few hundredths of a second and say, "Pffftt... shoulda got out the of the blocks faster!" I give you full permission to say, "Okay Mr. Hotshot, let me see your blockstarts!"

We're essentially watching a JV scrub lie through his teeth that he's as good as the best to ever do it. Anyone with two braincells to rub together knew this was doomed from the start. Now he's gone full grift.

no you're wrong wrote:

recruiter57 wrote:

If it doesn't matter if he is cheating, why the uproar on here about his efforts? He isn't going to break the record. Clearly this was much more difficult that he realized and I know he has admitted that over and over again. Based on his current mileage I'll be surprised if he beats 50 days which became the secondary goal. So what? If he does it in 55 or 60 or 70 but he raises awareness for mental health and raises a lot of money for Team RWB, how about we applaud that?

If you think he is cheating, then go to his route and monitor it yourself. They've given an open invitation of any time any where. I know I will be joining him for several miles when he runs through Missouri. I'll be doing it to support him and his efforts.

I'm not sure how to explain this to you, but in modern society, cheating and lying is generally considered a bad thing. Whitewashing it with "fundraising" doesn't erase the bad thing you have done.

To think this is entirely about fundraising is laughable too. Like, if he raises money for charity, great. But let's be real. He wants clout and sponsorships. No way around that. Dude's a weird wannabe influencer that isn't even likable. He's making enemies at an increasing rate.

I view this the exact same way I would view a candidate applying for a job lying on their resume, I'd show them the door and tell my colleagues to lookout for the dirty cheater.