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

He claims they learned more in five days than in the entire school year. While I understand his sentiment, it is a bit extreme. Now his children get to learn more via their own father and how he handles a touchy situation. So far, his silence speaks volumes.

As for berating the principal, he certainly tried shaming her, more so than she did him. He started his letter by addressing her as "Madam Principal" than Dear "Ms. _____". He then posted and reposted his self-serving response over and over again. I am a resident of the Abington Township and was in attendance at the school board meeting that addressed this issue and you have no idea the harm this individual caused.

You sound a bit jealous there. Doesn't matter what you believe. He ran a 3:11 and that is a fact.

You ought to spend you time doing something productive instead of trying to tear down others accomplishments.

Watching his finish and clenched fist move it seems he has atypical energy for a 3:11 finisher in a hot day. Looking at it he could easily have gone sub 3.

Draculas is a good term for people who do not show in photos

Bring back Jock Semple. He'll sort this out straightaway.

GregTR wrote:

Joey Br. wrote:

If Mike really did run a 3:11 marathon then it means on that one day he:

set two half marathon PRs, back-to-back

.

Not impossible. My friend set a half PR and marathon PR in the second half of the super hot 2012 Boston Marathon with his fastest 5K being the 35-40K with a sub-20. Bib# 2063. Look him up. Totally doable.

Did he set a PR in the first half? That's kinda what makes it hard.

I like the idea that after 40 pages and hundreds of posts laying out a pretty damning set of circumstances, someone still thinks that writing "he ran 3:11 and that is a fact" will somehow convince anyone. Cat's out of the bag-- enough people have smelled bullshit, it's gone to traditional media, only a matter of time.

There's a lot of chatter in this thread about the effort to out this guy ruining his kids' lives, and I'd like to question the assertion that that's what would happen if this accusation went broadly public and this guy was ultimately persuaded to admit his guilt publicly.

All parents are flawed people. All of us have parents, and all of us (some at younger ages than others) have reached that at-first uncomfortable realization that our parents have some issues. They're anxious or narrow-minded or egotistical or shallow or not that bright. For the most part, we still love them, of course, but with the understanding that they're neither perfect nor infallible.

Sometimes, it's an external source that brings our parents' flaws to light: it's a chance comment from an acquaintance, it's a specific scenario outside the home that brings out a parent's true nature in a way that occasions comment from others, etc. For a kid who's always suspected that Dad had some issues with his ego and his relationship with the truth (and kids are smart--they do notice this stuff on both conscious and subconscious levels), seeing Dad get called out for his behavior may not be a 100% negative experience. It'll be painful in the moment, sure, but it could also validate the kid's own instincts about Dad, and reinforce for the kid that social norms may be a bit different than Dad's norms.

(This is all pure speculation. I am not a shrink or anything like that. I just got to thinking about possible outcomes of this story, and how it all might play out for Mike and his family.)

Raysism wrote:

Did he set a PR in the first half? That's kinda what makes it hard.

Nope, he went conservative because it was a stupid hot day and killed it in the second half. I still can't believe he achieved that feat! It was incredible. His Athlinks profile will show you 5Ks in the low 17s and a 2:45 marathon PR though since then so there's also that... Mike's? Not so much...

Joey Br. wrote:

If Mike really did run a 3:11 marathon then it means on that one day he:

set two half marathon PRs, back-to-back

set four 10K PRs, back-to-back-to-back-to-back

Did so on a warm day, not ideal for fast times.

Did so without being photographed on course despite multiple official race photo spots on course other than the finish line.

Did so on a course that just happens to not have any timing maps other than the start/finish.

.

Excellent points about the back to back PR's. Pretty obvious the guy cheated and is a class A douche nozzle. Also pretty obvious he is posting in this thread which is even funnier.

Great job LRC!

OK - so been pursuing some of the more recent articles about Mike Rossi Cheating. In one of the articles, Mike Rossi issued a statement that read like this:

"A lot of things they've said on these blogs are slanderous," he said. "Believe me. I've seen them, and I've spoken to my attorney about them. I don't need to prove anything to anybody, because I didn't cheat."

Quoted online article can be found here:

http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/05/05/did-boston-marathon-dad-mike-rossi-cheat/

One thing stuck out in my head from other famous cheaters like Kip Litton and Dane Rauschenberg - They all 'Lawyered Up', Threatened Lawsuits on Slander, etc. Personally, this guy knows he is screwed but will probably deny it until the bitter end, like all narcissistic personalities do.

http://baitman.blogspot.com

Robert H. wrote:

At the 2012 Qualifier marathon in MI, I thought I was in 3:03 shape, however, we had an outlier May 20th and it was 68F at the start. I was demoralized by the weather, but went out at 7:00 flat anyway in an attempt for a BQ. Held for 18 miles then literally blew up and had to walk/run the last 8 in nearly 90 degree heat...got a 3:24. It is impossible that he ran that time, on that day, in that weather!

The 3:11 is dubious to begin with, but the weather he was faced with at LV makes it even less plausible. I have a similar story to the one above...thought I was in 3:05 shape and was faced with 70 degrees and 71% humidity at the start...82 and 50% at the finish. Like Robert H. I went out at 7:00 pace anyway and blew up at mile 19 to finish in 3:17.

With guilt clearly established, was the cheating premeditated or impulsive? I lean towards premiditated. He probably already prepaid for hotel rooms in Boston but knew he had no legitimate shot to BQ.

I do wonder why he went so far under his BQ time (3:25). A 3:19 would guarantee entry and be less suspicious.

This is just obsessive. Don't you have things to do with your life? A hobby?

GregTR wrote:

Joey Br. wrote:

If Mike really did run a 3:11 marathon then it means on that one day he:

set two half marathon PRs, back-to-back

set four 10K PRs, back-to-back-to-back-to-back

Did so on a warm day, not ideal for fast times.

.

Not impossible. My friend set a half PR and marathon PR in the second half of the super hot 2012 Boston Marathon with his fastest 5K being the 35-40K with a sub-20. Bib# 2063. Look him up. Totally doable.

Did your friend also run 26.2 miles faster than his 10K PR pace? Did he manage to run the whole route without being photographed? Does he also lack any GPS data, witnesses, any proof of him on the course?

If it was just the times, this wouldn't have gone anywhere.

There is just simply no evidence to suggest that Mike did run this marathon.

Looks like his twitter account (@mikerossi22) is gone. I had responded to a pic he posted of his medal and the school story, now I am dubious of what has happened.

Maybe Sarah Stanley can enlighten us.

Uh oh.

If you check Mike's starting time, he didn't cross the mat until 7:10:31AM.

Many of the people he started among ran 4 hours and slower.

So I think the picture search has to go back further beyond the 3 hour 45 minute people.

Madness wrote:

rojo wrote:

Hello everyone. It seems like a lot of people have jumped on here that haven't read the whole thread....

Goodnight. I may try a formal article tomorrow but it will take time as I'll need to contact race directors, hopefully other finishers and Mr. Rossi himself.

-Rojo

PS. I may try to get a stats guy at 538 to figure the odds out but I bet it's wya over one in a million being legitimate.

This is just obsessive. Don't you have things to do with your life? A hobby?

Yeah, rojo, don't you have a job or something?

HEY ROSSI! EVEN IF YOU GET OFF S ON THIS, LRC WILL BE FOLLOWING UP EVERY RACE YOU DO FROM HERE ON OUT. ANY FUTURE LETTERS TO THE PRINCIPAL, PUBLIC BUILDUPS, OR GASP ACCEPTING THE LRC CHALLENGE OF 10,000 TO THE CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE IF YOU SUB 3:20!!

Absolutely pre-meditated. The course does not lend itself to an impulsive decision to cheat.

Why the 3:11? My guess is he's bad at math. The last relay zone was about 10k to the finish. He may or may not have known the mile marker so he probably said something like "I'll jump in at 2:25, run an hour for my last 10k (if he knew the distance), and break 3:25." Well we know he can run under 8 minute pace for six miles. He runs 46 ish for his 10k (or whatever the exact distance was) and all of a sudden there is the finish. Viola 3:11.