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

Yes, he (allegedly) cheated at the 2007 Santa Clarita Marathon to get into the 2008 Boston Marathon to run with his son. Realized the following: 1. I'm never going to struggle again at a marathon like I did in Boston and 2: I can cheat without having to put in all of the miles, get all the accolades, the rinse and repeat at every race from then on. (Also, I don't believe Pike's Peak isn't in question, too.) Where there's a will, there's a way to cheat. He just got better at it. Cheating mastermind till now. Good job, Frank.

ExpertKipWatcher wrote:

Golgi Body wrote:

If you look at the Santa Clarita splits for his Meza, he always slows down uncharacteristically after the timing mat at 21.5 miles. At least, that's what happened in 2013, 2015, and 2017 (I haven't checked the others).

I know it isn't his usual M.O. but I wonder if he actually runs all the way in from the 21.5 mile mat, 4.7 miles in about 42 minutes?

That's giving Frank way too much credit.

I was looking for photos of Pike's Peak. Apparently it's difficult to cut the course, but do we know he ran it himself?

His Pike’sPeak times are fast considering that he lives at sea level.

From the Pikes Peak site:

“The Ascent or ascent portion of the Marathon can take as long, or longer, than a full flatland marathon. In fact, many flatlanders find that it can take much longer! On the other hand, if you have trained in high altitude, it is possible to go a little faster than your flatland marathon time during the Ascent. In general, if you live at altitude, go with your flatland marathon time. Otherwise, add 1/2 hour to your flatland marathon time. The average descent time is about 63% of the runner's Ascent time. In other words, the downhill is not free, and there are even a few ups on the way down!”

I wouldn’t be surprised if he hitched a ride to the top.

Meza was DQ'd from the 2019 LA Marathon. They used course video footage to come to the decision.

Bugger, just a bit late to the party, I wanted to nail the 5000th post.

Meza DQ wrote:

Meza was DQ'd from the 2019 LA Marathon. They used course video footage to come to the decision.

Amongst other things.

Meza DQ wrote:

Meza was DQ'd from the 2019 LA Marathon. They used course video footage to come to the decision.

Apparently, Glenn Miller is missing.

And the Pope's a Catholic.

Pikes Peak Mule? wrote:

I was looking for photos of Pike's Peak. Apparently it's difficult to cut the course, but do we know he ran it himself?

No, and with Fraudulent Frankie anything's possible, even your wildest conspiracy theory.

I think all of his Pikes Peak Marathon times are legit. All of his splits are accounted for in 2013, and his times are realistic for a pretty good runner in his age group but at a level way below his fraudulent marathon times. He has a 4:44 from Pikes Peak in 1988 at age 39, also a pretty good time. 3:27 at Santa Clarita at age 58 seems achievable for someone with that ability level at age 39 who continued to train regularly. Pasadena is in the foothills of the San Gabriels provides some good training opportunities for Pikes Peak, so it's not that unrealistic that he could perform well there.

I think he got back into racing with the goals of going to Boston and going back to Pikes Peak with his son. He had a bad race at Boston but continued to train and improve leading up to Pikes Peak 2009, where he legitimately won his age group. That was probably quite a thrill, and probably also the turning point that led him to start cheating at his home races to recreate the image of Frank the champion for his friends/co-workers/hs runners. After that, the frequency of his racing and continuous improvements are unrealistic, except for his Pikes Peak races, where his times follow the predictable year over year decline of someone at his age.

maybe this wrote:

Also, this would make a great vehicle for an aging Hollywood star. The Old Man and the Run: A sympathetic rascal hatches a hare-brained plan to snatch the AG marathon record by planning and executing the perfect race cheat, but the risk of exposure is climbing as jealous rivals and nosy snoops start to notice anomalies in his race times. (In the movie, FM would orchestrate Gene Dykes breaking his clavicle to keep him out of contention.) In the end, getting caught helps FM gain spiritual insight and his loved ones learn to accept him for who he is and not as a record-holding marathoner.

I know, I know, what a drag it is to be AFK and having to catch up on four days of posts. But glad to hear the DQ news.

Given his propensity to play the pit stop card, I might call it The Old Man and the Pee.

sparky polastry wrote:

KudzuRunner wrote:

This may already have been addressed, but does anybody have a theory about when in the course of his career he began to cheat?

3/22/2009 3:19:59 Pasadena

I think he got back into racing with the goals of going to Boston and going back to Pikes Peak with his son. He had a bad race at Boston but continued to train and improve leading up to Pikes Peak 2009, where he legitimately won his age group. That was probably quite a thrill, and probably also the turning point that led him to start cheating at his home races to recreate the image of Frank the champion for his friends/co-workers/hs runners.

Seems 3:19:59 2009 Pasadena is the earliest of his fraudulent marathons to be covered by a photo company.

As usual Frank is overdressed compared to everyone else and 3:19:59 is damned impressive even for a shorts and singlet wearing, skinny, highly trained 60 year old, so definitely not ligit coming from Frank.

If it's possible for the super sleuths to scrape MarathonFoto's for off course shots of Furtive Frankie this would be a good early one to start with:

I wonder if Loyola HS ever used FM's "accomplishments" for recruiting purposes...?

60 yo 3:19:59 in all that wet heavy clothing lol

Marathon Investigation wrote:

In my opinion, Frank’s best option at this point is to come clean and admit to what is obvious. I am not suggesting that he simply ask for his results to be removed because ‘it’s not fun anymore”, but to admit to every instance of course cutting, apologize to the races, the true winners, and those that have been attacked in his defense.

this is never going to happen, Frank is currently doing the best thing possible. stay quiet and wait for this to blow over.

all his records are gone and he can never race again but this will happen regardless. (and he really wasn't racing anyway)

his standing in the community is damaged beyond repair but he's an old man so he wont have to live with the shame much longer.

public apologies or displays of contrition wont change any of this, it will only add fuel to the fire.

ask the average punter in the street who Rosie or Kip are and they wouldn't have a clue.

Looks like Frankie used a bicycle to cheat for this race. He has velcro keeping his right pant leg tight to the leg, just as you would if you where riding a bicycle with bagging pants one.

???

Not that it really matters, but I noticed he also grasps his thumbs when he runs... you can see it in the 2009 pictures all the way up to the 2019 pictures.