Did Mike Rossi (viral marathon dad) cheat his way into Boston?

I bet he's a Republican and voted for Romney and Paul Ryan, another infamous marathon list.

Bored at work wrote:

Here is a video of him finishing his 30 minute PR

http://results.chronotrack.com/athlete/index/e/10510918

in that video of the finish there are 2 timing mats,

the time from crossing the first to the second is:

guy in yellow ahead of him: 4.2 sec

Him: 6 sec but will round down for him to 5 sec

1st lady behind him: 4.3 sec

2nd lady behind him: 4.4 sec.

I estimate that distance to be 17 meters and then calculate pace:

yellow: 9.05mph = 2:53 marathon proj.

Him: 5mph = 3:26 marathon proj.

Lady 1 8.84mph = 2:57 marathon proj.

Lady 2 8.64mph = 3:02 marathon proj.

At 5 sec. he only gets 7.6mph and 3:26 marathon proj.

At 5.5 sec he would get 6.91 mph and 3:47 proj.

he needs to cover that 17meters in 4.64 secs for 26.2 miles straight

*problems: maybe the #meters is off or timing; people are finishing and do not maintain same pace; some finish strong others finish slow; etc.

do your own math:

Time for someone with some respect and knowledgeable running knowledge to reach out to him and ask him all of these questions. The fact that it's getting put on media websites show that this story is only going to continue to get bigger.

The lack of photos is pretty damning and it must be something that he never even thought of beforehand. Every runner has photos from multiple points and if there bib number was unreadable they ended up in the lost and found folder. His number was clearly visible and he still doesn't have a single photo?

Can someone reach out to the marathon and see if they have any emails from him asking how often and where there would be timing mats throughout the race? Someone with half a brain would plan ahead and make sure there weren't timing mats on the course that could prove him cheating. Also, we have to remember he is new to running so he isn't going to understand why people can't just believe that he ran a marathon 40 minutes faster than his PR and at his 5k race pace. Most non runners don't understand that actual science behind it and they just think that whatever they say will be trusted.

I'm a personal coach that has worked with about 25 marathoners in the 3:30 to 4:30 range over the past 2 years and I can assure everyone that you don't just go from 3:40's to 3:11 while still running slower at every other distance. His running economy would have been so greatly improved that he would be walking 22:00 5k's not racing them. Also he would not be walking during 18 mile long runs at 40 seconds per mile slower than race pace.

I've had many athletes just miss their marks by seconds and it's very unsettling that the guy can't just come forward and admit to his wrongdoing. He cheated and for the sake of his family and work life he needs to just be a man, admit to cheating, apologize, and lay low for quite a long time. He dug his grave and now he needs to lay in it.

teamdoc wrote:

This guy is the epitome of the adult learner. Adults typically learn through experience and reflection rather than being directed or receiving lectures. That includes lessons about ethics.

Right now this guy is being humiliated in public by a self-righteous, vengeful horde. It is clearly his fault for (very likely) cheating and proviiding said horde with raw material in the form of his cheating and self-righteous public e-mailing.

I would argue that he's now reflecting on his actions and learning from them. He won't do this again. Admittedly I'm guessing.

He has kids. They can and will be hurt by this. Let's release the pressure, folks. You've done your part.

Well said, Mike Rossi, well said.

113 wrote:

It's helpful to think about what you personally would do if you were accused of cheating by someone. From my perspective, I don't wear a GPS watch, so I wouldn't be able to offer that as "proof."

Precisely. I thought, "What would I (or a reasonable person) do?" and it didn't add up.

...

If I came home and found my wife murdered, I'd alternate between being an angry and sobbing mess, and I'd be furious at anyone making accusations against me.

...

Factoring in the way most people with GPS use them, including his shared banal workouts, and it makes less sense. Then you factor in the personality differences of someone who has a more attention-seeking media presence, both professionally and personally, and it adds up even less.

And we have to consider the fact that he put up with, and fanned, the media the last few weeks. Now he might be fatigued by it to a degree...but enough not to defend your honour?

Like you, even if I shut down social media, my final response would have defiant mentions of workouts, splits, and friends and family that could attest to the performance, if not the potential.

He does pump his fists after crossing the line.

Bib 2014 Via Time Recent marathon Time Where

1603 3:10:54 2:56:40 Charlotte 11/14

2550 3:11:04 3:07:22 Boston 4/15

2544 3:11:27 3:14:19 Boston 4/15

1242 3:11:30 3:18:01 Prov 5/14

2531 3:11:41 N/A

1823 3:11:43 3:12:22 NY 11/14

Rossi 3:11:45 4:01:42 Boston 4/15

1998 3:12:13 3:05:04 Boston 4/15

2028 3:12:29 3:05:50 Boston 4/15

1711 3:12:43 3:21:44 Boston 4/15

1950 3:12:59 3:13:03 NY 11/14

2233 3:13:03 3:30:27 Boston 4/15

1880 3:13:26 3:31:38 Boston 4/15

True. If everything that was immoral was also illegal there would be no virtue left in this world. Stone me to death now for posting a google cached photo from a public blog depicting a child being hugged by her dad....

You're the one with the stone-thrower's hard-on here.

you we're so excited to be on top of the pack bringing this guy down, so excited about finding a new way to make him look bad, you didn't give a Fock about who else got damaged along the way. Even little kids.

Asshat.

Him should read 7.6mph not 5mph

Statistics Guy wrote:

Bib 2014 Via Time Recent marathon Time Where

1603 3:10:54 2:56:40 Charlotte 11/14

2550 3:11:04 3:07:22 Boston 4/15

2544 3:11:27 3:14:19 Boston 4/15

1242 3:11:30 3:18:01 Prov 5/14

2531 3:11:41 N/A

1823 3:11:43 3:12:22 NY 11/14

Rossi 3:11:45 4:01:42 Boston 4/15

1998 3:12:13 3:05:04 Boston 4/15

2028 3:12:29 3:05:50 Boston 4/15

1711 3:12:43 3:21:44 Boston 4/15

1950 3:12:59 3:13:03 NY 11/14

2233 3:13:03 3:30:27 Boston 4/15

1880 3:13:26 3:31:38 Boston 4/15

One of these things is not like the other....

Statistics Guy wrote:

Bib 2014 Via Time Recent marathon Time Where

1603 3:10:54 2:56:40 Charlotte 11/14

2550 3:11:04 3:07:22 Boston 4/15

2544 3:11:27 3:14:19 Boston 4/15

1242 3:11:30 3:18:01 Prov 5/14

2531 3:11:41 N/A

1823 3:11:43 3:12:22 NY 11/14

Rossi 3:11:45 4:01:42 Boston 4/15

1998 3:12:13 3:05:04 Boston 4/15

2028 3:12:29 3:05:50 Boston 4/15

1711 3:12:43 3:21:44 Boston 4/15

1950 3:12:59 3:13:03 NY 11/14

2233 3:13:03 3:30:27 Boston 4/15

1880 3:13:26 3:31:38 Boston 4/15

well done, he is the outlier

Like Cats wrote:

teamdoc wrote:

This guy is the epitome of the adult learner. Adults typically learn through experience and reflection rather than being directed or receiving lectures. That includes lessons about ethics.

Right now this guy is being humiliated in public by a self-righteous, vengeful horde. It is clearly his fault for (very likely) cheating and proviiding said horde with raw material in the form of his cheating and self-righteous public e-mailing.

I would argue that he's now reflecting on his actions and learning from them. He won't do this again. Admittedly I'm guessing.

He has kids. They can and will be hurt by this. Let's release the pressure, folks. You've done your part.

Well said, Mike Rossi, well said.

Not even close. Just a guy who loves kids and hates watching a feeding frenzy. Have another look at what I wrote. I think he's has received his due and that what we're seeing now from you is just as ugly as cheating for a BQ, uglier for being hidden behind anonymity, and just kind of gross.

Is there any way to know where the photographs were taken along the course? If so we could rule out him running the miles between the earliest photographer and the latest photographer (save the finish) and get an idea for possible exit and entrance points on the course. Probably would be hard to find this though.

ZIP wrote:

Is there any way to know where the photographs were taken along the course? If so we could rule out him running the miles between the earliest photographer and the latest photographer (save the finish) and get an idea for possible exit and entrance points on the course. Probably would be hard to find this though.

I don't think this would be that hard for people who know the area. One of the major photo spots is on a bridge/aqueduct near some sort of downtown. Another spot is on a bike path. I'm sure locals could give more exact info.

It's occurring to me that the BQ times are still way too high to be meaningful. A bunch of these jokers would be completely ruled out if qualifying times were dropped another 5-7 minutes per category. Then the cheaters (this guy is the tip of the iceberg I'm sure) would seem that much more ridiculous by reviewing performances and also just by watching them run.

This is pretty interesting to watch, though. Can Letsrun solve that tax cheating problem among small business owners? I'm imagining that thread being less active.

Keith Sweat wrote:

It was 62 and Sunny at the start of the race and the high for the day was 79. My guess that it was close to 70 at 10:00 when he finished.

Did he have injured sweat glands too?

http://findmymarathon.com/weather-detail.php?zname=Via%20Marathon&year=

ertert wrote:

Check out photo 134-13327 from the Lehigh Marathon. I see a bit of a smirk and not a drip of sweat. Plus he looks like he just sat around at a coffee shop for an hour, not like somebody would look after running a 30 min. marathon PR.

We need the smoking gun a picture of him cutting the course of hopping in a car mid race.

to me, this is the nail in the coffin.

had an awesome day and good training? - plausible

dropped lots of time as a beginner? - plausible

missed in lots of pictures along the race? - plausible

ran 3+ hours in sunny 70 degree weather without sweating? - NO WAY

I would add that by his own description his training was insufficient to support the kind of improvement necessary to go from 3:40 to 3:11. On his blog he reports that he only ran "well over a thousand miles in 18 months" and "increased" his mileage to an average of 50 per week in preparation for Boston. Generously that translates to less than 100 miles per month over 18 months

I have been training hard for the last several months and I feel pretty good about where I am in the process. I've been able to increase my mileage (50 miles per week average), and I've been focussing on hills in preparation for the challenge of Boston.

For the next 18 months I have run well over a thousand miles, but I have also learned that running is only part of preparing to run a marathon.

I can easily believe that Mike Rossi was capable of such a result. Nearly all of his other races were either trained through, or treated as workouts with things like mile on, 400 off built into them. On many of his training runs he produces efforts superior to his races. I can personally attest that although the publicity from the letter was a bit overblown, Mike Rossi is a upstanding guy. You have only circumstantial evidence, and there are other people who missed their photos also in the race. When all of the right things come together on the right day, incredible breakthroughs can happen. As for the supposed "impossibility" of the impressive feat due to his physique, take a look at Sri Chinmoy who lifted thousands of pounds without looking hardly capable of it.

Ev man wrote:

You're the one with the stone-thrower's hard-on here.

you we're so excited to be on top of the pack bringing this guy down, so excited about finding a new way to make him look bad, you didn't give a Fock about who else got damaged along the way. Even little kids.

Asshat.

Right. Never again will talk about cheating because, you know, kids and stuff. I wonder if he thought about his kids before he "ran" 3:11.

Actions have consequences--including those not foreseen.