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

Where oh where is the Rojo article??????? Where??????? I've been waiting patiently ever so long. I can't wait any longer. I just can't.

Hi Mike

Very uncool to bring Vader into this.

At least Vader shows up in pictures and has a legit running history at Tokyo marathon, London marathon and a lot of others, and he put in real Jedi training to get there:

http://www.pbase.com/andy_guest/image/125685705

http://imgur.com/gallery/2KxkLam

http://www.sixtblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/04-London-Marathon.jpg

http://www.kawaiipress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Darth-Vader-Costume-Japan.jpg

Way cool, Mike.

Benjamin Dover wrote:

Where oh where is the Rojo article??????? Where??????? I've been waiting patiently ever so long. I can't wait any longer. I just can't.

that is another reason why I changed my mind, I was waiting for that article and believed it was coming, but it did not, and now I do not believe in it either

maybe if that article came out i would read it and change my mind again

and I am sorry to bring Vader into it, i just meant the movie Vader, not the running Vader

Benjamin Dover wrote:

Where oh where is the Rojo article??????? Where??????? I've been waiting patiently ever so long. I can't wait any longer. I just can't.

Bump.

Seriously....

Anakin HobbyJogger wrote:

Very uncool to bring Vader into this.

At least Vader shows up in pictures and has a legit running history at Tokyo marathon, London marathon and a lot of others, and he put in real Jedi training to get there:

http://www.pbase.com/andy_guest/image/125685705http://imgur.com/gallery/2KxkLamhttp://www.sixtblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/04-London-Marathon.jpghttp://www.kawaiipress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Darth-Vader-Costume-Japan.jpg

Not to be a jerk but Vader looks different in those pictures, even the two of the London marathon, like not just an outfit change but like 2 different people.

I hate to say it but I have to call into question his time. Also his name does not show in the results so I feel he was DQ'd or bandited.

just try it wrote:

hmmm look at it from another's shoes,

i challenge everyone who has spent 15 minutes on this thread to spend 1 minute just accepting that he ran it, try it for just that 1 minute, and then see if you feel better are a better person

try it, if you don't like it go back to disbelieving

Yes, I agree, if you pretend an awful event is actually a good event it will make you feel better about that event. One can only question why you would ever want to do that? It's insanity. Where does it end?

So, for example, you or someone you love, gets cancer, and then someone can tell you to spend one minute pretending the cancer is actually healing your body. I bet you'd feel better about having cancer for that minute. So after that you can keep pretending that cancer is good, and so can stop any treatment because cancer is good for you. It's not the truth and you'll die, but, it's sure nice to pretend and you can die happy, being healed by cancer.

Good suggestion. Idiot.

I had a post deleted regarding a social media campaign aimed at an event boycott. Either Rojo found it to be a step too far or perhaps he thought it is the way we should go and is finishing an article with that in mind. Maybe?

You obviously didn't try it.

HeCheated wrote:

I had a post deleted regarding a social media campaign aimed at an event boycott. Either Rojo found it to be a step too far or perhaps he thought it is the way we should go and is finishing an article with that in mind. Maybe?

Yes, I agree and was thinking along similar lines.

When the article comes out and makes the front page of the site, it will likely generate its own thread and we can recruit many new Letsrunners who won't commit to reading or keeping up with this loooong thread. Probably many people who were reading and helping with the Mike Rossi investigation have since tuned out for the most part, as this thread, much like Litton's before it, is breaking down into trolling and bickering.

The article, when it comes out, will give our fight to have Rossi DQ'd new recruits and new life.

Gun wrote:

graysweater wrote:

Earlier in the thread, there was discussion about a series of photographs along the course that showed all runners except Rossi – and, critically, that the time intervals between the photographs were too short to miss anyone. This seems like pretty conclusive evidence that Rossi didn't complete the entire course. But it's not in a very convenient format to view or distribute. Did anyone consider making an animation (or slideshow) from these stills and posting online?

That would be the smoking gun, indeed.

Someone on here has to be a Linux user... just use wget and a glob pattern to download all of the photos (Google it).

You're assuming the article will be good, don't get your hopes up we've been burned before. Given all the ridiculous hesitation from brojos so far I doubt the article will come out and directly say he cheated. This statement would be factual so no need to worry about losing in a lawsuit, but they are too chicken to do it. It's going to be sugar-coated, lengthy and we'll see the usual poor writing. Just wait and see...

Honestly I did try it. I gave it more than a minute several different times. You know what happened? The self image of me dripping of sweat on that tow path struggling to finish kept popping up. Another one that kept creeping in was of that asshat having an iced coffee at Starbucks before jumping out of a port-a-potty at mile 25 for his infamous 1 mile jog.

So yes I tried it and he still cheated. Thank you though I feel like a better person for it now.

it is over

there will be no DQ

no one is looking through their digital photos from the race to see if they have an incriminating photo

no one has come forth to say they saw anything untoward

amazing the effort to get this guy who is a hobby jogger vs. Jeptoo or Shobukhova, i think it must have something to do with most LRCers identifying more as amateurs and perceiving that it is worse to violate the rules as an amateur for 'glory' than as a pro for money

the article should be about why this took off with such zeal but people just aren't interested in Jeptoo etc.

maybe people are more interested in Jeptoo than I think and sense

I believe he ran a 3:11 marathon too! But I also believe the Star Wars trilogy is a documentary series.

I know early on in this thread that the Board identified either the 10 or 20 runners that finished both before and after Rossi and then went back went back and pulled all of their respective photos to see if Rossi was in any of their photos.

Does anyone know whether there was an attempt to contact any of those runners are believed to have been in some sort of close proximity to Rossi on the course based on finish times? The point of contacting any of the runners would be to see if they remember him running side-by-side for a bit, that they passed him or that he passed them. For example, did the guy who finished right before Rossi, bib# 1823, does he recall passing him (and if so, how far back)? It may seem intrusive, but the race committee certainly didn't acknowledge that they asked for anything to be prove he ran the race but instead only said that there were no reports of any wrong doing? They would have known about reports of wrong doing the same day or by the next day, so they obviously did not try to prove or confirm he was on the course.

I see nothing wrong contacting any race participant to get their recollection of whether they even saw or can remember seeing Rossi on the course. I am sure many of the trolls and those imbibing on the koolaid will think this is too intrusive, but sometimes the truth hurts.

vader wrote:

I believe wrote:

I spent 2 and 1/2 weeks pondering cheating and believing in that and then the race officials tell me I was wrong. I have to face the reality that is their decision. I am done pondering, I now believe he ran it in 3:11. It was the race of his life. Sorry to ruin your hate party. Maybe I am just exhausted from all the emotion in the thread. Honestly once I decided to believe he ran it, it was like a burden lifted off my shoulders, I just feel better in general about people, life, and everything. I feel like Darth Vader coming back to the light and good side of the Force and now I can believe in people again.

I believe he ran a 3:11 marathon too! But I also believe the Star Wars trilogy is a documentary series.

you believe Vader ran 3:11??? not based on those pictures!! also the lightsaber looks fake in the pics

Has anyone considered that maybe Mike Rossi crossed the starting line, then casually stepped off course shortly afterwards, then returned to his car, drove towards the finish area, got out of his car, snuck back onto the course when no one was looking and ran across the finish line?

Wouldn't this completely explain why Mike's chip registered at the start and finish AND explain why he is not in any of the pictures AND explain how he finished in a time that is much faster than he is capable of, AND explain why no one has vouched for him being on the course, AND why he has no cell phone or GPS data to prove he traveled the race course on foot

It's like I was trying to figure out how Mike ran this race in 3:11 without even a shred of proof that he did so and BLAM!, the solution hit me like a ton of bricks. So, anyway, that's my theory guys. I'm not sure if he deserves a DQ or not though. I mean, did the race explicitly forbid driving most of the route? If they didn't put that in the fine print, then Mike rightfully skates. No big deal though, they can add something about having to cover the actual race course on foot into next year's waiver.