Robert Young fakes run across America

I do have a copy of the KML file that is up-to-date through about 9pm Central last night.

Hopefully they bring it back so I can continue to be amazed by his awesomeness.

UK Observer wrote:

I think in regard to the 3 initial marathons we can safely say the times these were completed in is very unlikely, he may have ran all 3 but a lot slower. Probably changed by the publisher to increase book sales and drum up hype.

If they were done in 5 hours a piece I'd believe it off of no training. He does however have some results that show he can run 3.20-3.30 back to backs but these were done a few months into his daily marathon runs.

He was running 20 min 5k races regularly on the weekends for a few years before that, so he wasn't really a couch potato like his story.

noobrunner wrote:

Hopefully they bring it back so I can continue to be amazed by his awesomeness.

The kids. Doing it for the kids.

Like I've previously said in this thread the stats are very suspect, but parts of his story check out.

My personal opinion is that there has at minimum been some exaggerated claims, if not complete fabrications.....

I wouldn't say with the mixed bag of evidence that the whole story is bullshit, plain as day though

To hell with timelines. How about one Facebook post... Just ONE where he strings together 2-3 miles at his claimed 5:30-6 min miles. They can be downhill on the road and not on the shoulder in the middle of the night. They can be for 2-3 miles instead of the back to back 25 milers as claimed.

I even offered $1,000 to the charity of his choice if he can run just one day of what he has claimed (should be easy right)?

Yet not one reply by Kev?

His 5k, 10k, pro cycling, couch potatoe to 3 marathons in 24 hours stories have been debunked.

I doubt he really ran the 3:07 London. Marathon.

So my offer stands, $1000 if he can legitimately do just one day of what he's claimed.

"Jesus, I asked you guys to take that data down. They're on to us. "

True, but if we are to assume some elements have been exaggerated it wouldn't be far fetched to believe he was late or didn't go work. Like you say could have been just long runs, we'll never know.

'sheed wallace wrote:

UK Observer wrote:

Expert Testimony (Lieberman): Proved True

A guy who studies running form saying "oh yeah Rob has good running form" has no bearing on whether or not Rob has the ability to break this record. His verified past race times/performances do. They say "no". Watch don't lie.

I didn't contact Professor Lieberman because I thought that his comments would have any direct relevance to the case at hand. I contacted him because Rob Young quoted him on his personal website, because some people here--including me--were dubious, and because Rob's integrity, or lack thereof, has everything to do with why this thread has legs.

Lieberman's confirmation that yes, he did indeed say those things about Rob Young, means that the case for Rob's all-points deceit in the matter of running achievements is incrementally weaker than many here thought it was. Please note the word "incrementally." I didn't say "This changes everything."

In this case, at least, Rob Young told the truth. Lieberman is a reputable scientist, he shows up in Chris McDougall's BORN TO RUN, and he did say those things about Rob Young. That's all. Make of it what you will. But please don't insist, without evidence, that all the quotes on his "what they say" page are simply made up. At least one of them isn't--and it's a pretty good quote:

noobrunner wrote:

I do have a copy of the KML file that is up-to-date through about 9pm Central last night.

Hopefully they bring it back so I can continue to be amazed by his awesomeness.

Can you post it somewhere? I'm a spatial programmer and can tell you the distance and splits between every waypoint in the file.

KudzuRunner wrote: the case for Rob's all-points deceit in the matter of running achievements is incrementally weaker than many here thought it was.

I never thought he was 100% BS like Viada or Lawlor. Rob has enough documented ultra races to prove he can run a very long way. I do think he embellishes and he is likely adding some cheat miles to his current cross-country record attempt.

And we all know that CHRIS MCDOUGALL is a compulsive lying FRAUD. I admit, he is a talented writer, but he fabricates his stories. Sounds like a really classy group they have.

This is well said. To me, it's clear that this guy can run. He isn't Mike Rossi or Kip Litton-- he has some actual talent and is well-suited for this type of mega-endurance running. The tracker, when it was up, made it look like he was running/walking 50+ mile days while being tracked. That is no joke, especially when you do it on consecutive days. But there's nothing verifiable to suggest that he has ever accomplished anything beyond that or that he would have had any shot at this record had it been an honest attempt.

Your mom's pond wrote:

elephino wrote:

And after he passes the reflector post, he disguises himself as a telephone pole. It's because he's so humble.

I totally see a bloke wearing a Scottish skirt sipping tea as he runs

Can someone post a detailed picture of this? It looks like he is wearing jeans! Did he hop out of the motorhome right before he saw the car approaching?

Heavyd84 wrote:

doubler wrote:

Hopefully they come back..no reason to take them down intentionally, right?

In the video, he says that is stores the location data on the device for 5 days, so if it cannot connect, it will put everything up once it re-connects as long as its not over 5 days.

The issue here is with the file being served from the website, which would be pulling from their master database on a server somewhere on land... NOT with internet connectivity in the RV. Issues with connectivity would only apply to uploading new check-ins. The previously uploaded checkins would still be online even if the RV drove into the Mississippi and sank. As another poster noted, the issue is not with the website itself, but with that particular file, because the other kml file (the planned route) from the same domain are still being served. It still could be a technical issue, but time will tell -- they would obviously want to bring that back up to legitimize their claims.

thems some kml wrote:

noobrunner wrote:

I do have a copy of the KML file that is up-to-date through about 9pm Central last night.

Hopefully they bring it back so I can continue to be amazed by his awesomeness.

Can you post it somewhere? I'm a spatial programmer and can tell you the distance and splits between every waypoint in the file.

I love how somehow who's apparently really modest and doesn't like to draw attention to their achievements has a 'what they say' page. I mean it doesn't get much more self indulgent than that.

Your probably right, we need to get the Ultra team on the ground and monitoring a weeks worth of effort.

I'd give him the benefit of the doubt if they ran 70-80 miles a day for 7 days straight on his case and there was no hint of deceit.

(In this event anyway, the PB's and stats are another matter....)

For people who don't understand why people believe his story - basically it boils down to the fact that normal honest people with morals just wouldn't concieve that someone could or would fabricate a story like this.

If you have any integrity at all, you'd never imagine lying so plainly or embelishing the truth to this extent.

He's succeeded because as the old classic goes - no one would be stupid enough to make it up!

The Donger wrote:

I doubt he really ran the 3:07 London. Marathon.

I looked at that one rather closely. All the splits and photos seem legit. The splits fade drastically from start to finish. But that's his M.O. Start fast and fade.

I consider this 3:07 his PR. It was set in the midst of him running Race Across USA. Each week, those racers race 6 days with a daily leg around 26 miles and have one day off a week. Rob did two legs on April 24 for the next day as well. April 26 was a scheduled off day in Race Across USA. Rob flew to London. Ran London Marathon in 3:07 on April 26. Continued running Race Across USA on April 27.

It's a tight schedule and a lot of running and expensive flights to and from London, but I haven't seen anything to indicate he didn't run London in 3:07. All the splits and photos are there.

Now I've yet to see any data regarding a marathon PR as "2hrs 41mins" which he had claimed verbatim on his website. Zombie noted that on p. 6 of this thread. A Google site search of his website still shows that from his website. But that claim is now REMOVED from his website.