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

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Ironic wrote:

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So, nobody on here knows anybody over at the VIA marathon? Or knows somebody who knows somebody? I've pretty much gotten to the point where all I really want is a better explanation for the non-DQ. Was it just inexperienced non-runners who don't understand the impossibility of his running a 3:11? Possibly combined with a complete misunderstanding of evidence and proof? They are volunteers, could be just ignorance at work?

I wouldn't mind just knowing the process that occurred and what actual "evidence" they considered in making their decision.

I get that people cheat. I get that people are assh*les. I get why Rossi did what he did; unfortunately, people like that exist in this world. The only thing I don't understand is why the "committee" didn't DQ him. That is the only mystery in all of this to me.

I think they said they needed conclusive evidence that he did not run the course. E.g. - photo or video of him actually leaving the course and traveling outside the course. Not just a lack of affirmative evidence.

There has been discussion here about Boston's role in this, whether it should yank LVM's status as a Boston qualifying site, and how they verify applicants. These points are from the BAA website:

The Boston Marathon does not determine what races are Boston Qualifiers.

Please contact the race you are interested in attempting your qualifying mark to see if they are certified by either USA Track & Field or AIMS (Association of International Marathons).

The qualifying window for the 2016 Boston Marathon opened September 13, 2014.

All qualifying marathons must be certified.

For application into the Boston Marathon, applicants must provide the name and date of the marathon at which they qualified, and their official finishing time.

The B.A.A. will verify all qualifying times before granting acceptance into the race.

So, LVM is certified by USATF (or AIMS), which probably does little more than measure the course and obviously did not dictate safety measures to protect the integrity of the race (such as a minimum number of timing mats). Boston then compares information from applicants to the race results (to simply answer the question, did this applicant run this time at this event?). They aren't getting into looking at split times or photo checkpoints. That responsibility has to fall to the race leadership.

LVM is not going to lose its "Boston qualifier" designation. The course is 26.2 miles and if there were any concerns about integrity of the race going forward, they were addressed with the addition of timing mats and videotaping at checkpoints. If there was a threat of losing Boston qualifier status, they would have DQed him by now.

Has Bart Yasso ever made a comment on this whole fiasco?

Red headed step child wrote:

Has Bart Yasso ever made a comment on this whole fiasco?

I think one of the problems we are dealing with here is realistically lets say there are 500-1000 Rossi's who cheat their way in. And out of those people how many care enough to say anything about it?

Most 2:30 types don't care enough to do anything about it because at the end of the day it doesn't affect them, likewise with the 4+ hour crowd.

That is what Lehigh is banking on, that so few people care enough that they won't run the race next year. It will be interesting to see if their gamble pays off with the # of particpants they have in the 2015 race/

Red headed step child wrote:

Has Bart Yasso ever made a comment on this whole fiasco?

Yes, a long time ago here:

Not much of a statement.

Reg Fields wrote:

Red headed step child wrote:

Has Bart Yasso ever made a comment on this whole fiasco?

I think one of the problems we are dealing with here is realistically lets say there are 500-1000 Rossi's who cheat their way in. And out of those people how many care enough to say anything about it?

Most 2:30 types don't care enough to do anything about it because at the end of the day it doesn't affect them, likewise with the 4+ hour crowd.

That is what Lehigh is banking on, that so few people care enough that they won't run the race next year. It will be interesting to see if their gamble pays off with the # of particpants they have in the 2015 race/

I don't think Lehigh is banking on anything.

Rather, they convened their little committee, looked at the evidence, and concluded that although anyone in their right mind could see that Rossi didn't run the full 26.2, they didn't have 100% conclusive proof, so the path of least financial resistance was to issue a carefully worded statement that doesn't exactly clear Rossi, but doesn't DQ him either.

And then they closed the file.

There's going to be no re-opening of the file - everyone but the Philly wedding industry has moved on.

From this point forward, LVM will have more mats and some sort of video checkpoint. Take your small victory and move on.

It's over.

Wait, I've read every post but I am missing why we think cheater Mike Rossi made up an attorney? I think he is very capable of that, but a couple pages ago everyone seemed very sure he did it.

Was it because no sane attorney would take his case? What was the give away?

Wohooo, some sense!?!

Bored at work wrote:

Wait, I've read every post but I am missing why we think cheater Mike Rossi made up an attorney? I think he is very capable of that, but a couple pages ago everyone seemed very sure he did it.

Was it because no sane attorney would take his case? What was the give away?

I think MR indicated he had an attorney and would pursue any false statements about MR. Multiple people, who have clearly identified themselves, are flat out calling him a cheat and crickets from any attorney (maybe because calling him a cheat is true?). What could really change the marathon's decision is if it turns out they received a letter/email from an attorney that did not in fact exist (but who knows - no one has identified his attorney and it's not entirely clear the marathon ever heard from an attorney).

Well said. The victories are Mike Rossie's name is forever tarnished and hopefully cheating will be better policed not only at VIA but at all marathons, especially ones that advertise themselves as fast qualifiers for Boston. Remain Calm.... All is well... REMAIN CALM ALLL IS WELL!!!

Bored at work wrote:

Wait, I've read every post but I am missing why we think cheater Mike Rossi made up an attorney? I think he is very capable of that, but a couple pages ago everyone seemed very sure he did it.

Was it because no sane attorney would take his case? What was the give away?

I think the consensus is that he is deemed capable of such a stunt.

But I don't think people in this thread are sure.

Rather "we" hope the BroJos could potentially come up with a new lever

djgsjgj wrote:

Bored at work wrote:

Wait, I've read every post but I am missing why we think cheater Mike Rossi made up an attorney? I think he is very capable of that, but a couple pages ago everyone seemed very sure he did it.

Was it because no sane attorney would take his case? What was the give away?

I think the consensus is that he is deemed capable of such a stunt.

But I don't think people in this thread are sure.

Rather "we" hope the BroJos could potentially come up with a new lever

Has anybody actually bothered emailing them to find out? I personally don't care enough to do it, but I'll admit that this thread is providing me with some entertainment, so I would welcome any new plot twist. I highly doubt that the brojos are still following this thread so, if you want to know the name of Rossi's lawyer, you'll likely have to contact them directly.

844-538-7786

Personally, I don't think that Rossi lied about the lawyer. I'm skeptical that he has the writing ability or knowledge of law to convincingly impersonate a lawyer. I hope that I'm wrong. Of course, it doesn't take much to fool the Lehigh Valley race director or the brojos for that matter (as evidenced by the Animal House quote).

You sure seem like you care(d) enough to find out the telephone #, email address and write a coherent post. Why not just send Weldon an email and ask him for it?

I think LoserMikeRossi should do it, but only if he posts the email here.

Rossi's lawyers are: Dewie, Cheatum, and How

Actually, that's Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe.