Robert Young fakes run across America

113 wrote:

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.

I agree with this. His results for actual races, on their websites, show he's a legit runner. I am actually kind of o.O at the Race Across America thing where he ran basically 50 miles in a day to get an extra day off, FLEW TO LONDON, ran the marathon in a time which, while not spectacular, is pretty damn amazing considering it was in the middle of a string of daily marathon-distance runs, flew back to the US, and kept going. That is impressive if only for the logistics alone!

But the various falsehoods on his website about his PRs and background (not to mention the ridiculous origin fable in his book, which I read in the Amazon preview) make it totally reasonable to scrutinize his claims during this "record" attempt. In particular, after reading about Adam Kimble, who tried but failed to break this record - it makes me dubious that someone with slower long-distance PRs would have a chance.

The power of the internet.

When will these idiots learn?

rojo wrote:

My question to everyone is 1) Who has the record? How do we know the actual record was legit.

Frank Giannino:

How do we know it was legit? No idea. I'll say that this account doesn't set off the same alarm bells some of the famous cheating cases do. His PRs are much stronger and his strategy makes a lot more sense than Young's. Giannino is still around-- would be interesting to hear from him.

This guy: http://jalopnik.com/here-s-the-data-from-ed-bolian-s-record-setting-cross-c-1648466595

curiously interested wrote:

plprlgbprkgbrvb wrote:

So, why is it going 6 mph?????????

And that youtube video matches the accounts of the bunny lady who wanted to run with Rob and couldn't find him and they claimed he was on the other side of the RV, and the account of Asher who started this whole investigation. Three separate incidents of the RV without Rob running.

Is there anyone documented that showed up randomly that actually saw him running?

The ultralisters will show up, and if he is capable of the pace he claims for 1 week, that will his case that he is at least capable of the pace he claims for an extended period. But it will not explain the eyewitness account of the OP or that unsupported desert night pace when he took a wrong turn.

The tracking is provided by a company called Open Tracking who are not related to Rob Young, and who offer these kind of services for numerous events and individual athletes.

I'm 100% sure and confident that they will not alter the data that is being sent from the SPOT tracker.

He is gonna pull injury as soon as ultra team is deployed.

Heavyd84 wrote:

[quote]sympathy for the devil wrote:

[quote]Heavyd84 wrote:

Haha yeah supposedly the laz guy is well known and legit.

Yeah Laz is legit....and goddamn bat $hit insane race director. I truly believe he will catch this tool cheating. Unless Robbie quits soon.

And I'm caught up to the current page!! I admit I did the equivalent of hoping on a bike as I barely glanced of some of it.

Let's talk big picture here.

1) Since this thread started three days ago, how many miles has he run?

2) How many miles per day was he running before this thread was started?

3) How many miles did he run in the three days before this thread was started?

Those stats right there might be enough for me. Maybe I won't have to make a road trip. If I do the road trip, I can't leave until after the baseball game on Sunday. We are doing father's day a week early.

When are the ultra guys getting there?

If you want to road trip, email me

robertjohnson@letsrun.com

curiously interested wrote:

[quote]The Donger wrote:

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.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&thread=7355147&id=7359659#7359659

His marathon PR is still listed in a drop down screen on his website. Go to

and click the red box with a little white down arrow at the middle top of the screen. Also lists a 1:08 HM PR.

That video was tracked down by the original poster (Asher). I imagine he got it from a local business owner AFTER some of Rob's fans complained about the quality of his first set of videos.

ilanarama wrote:

I am actually kind of o.O at the Race Across America thing where he ran basically 50 miles in a day to get an extra day off, FLEW TO LONDON, ran the marathon in a time which, while not spectacular, is pretty damn amazing considering it was in the middle of a string of daily marathon-distance runs, flew back to the US, and kept going. That is impressive if only for the logistics alone!

Were any RVs involved in this Race Across America thing?

The SPOT is in the van. We know that. That is what is being tracked on the website. You cannot use that to judge his run data. It can only be used as a way of tracking their current location. Which is what the website shows. (and I assume needs a stronger connection to broadcast than a simpler recording pack in his shorts)

Rob has said clearly in today's video that he carries a separate tracker. That is the data you need to examine when it is presented, That needs to be checked against the logs and watch GPS. That data could be entirely different.

As far as I can tell he's running across america, using several tracking methods, a legit live tracking site (similar to Jureks AT) with more than one news crew (One being ESPN). Let Rob and his team present their evidence data from the watches/shorts tracker and see if it stands up to scrutiny then. If it doesn't he won't get the record.

Am I going nuts or are the sleuths here are using the van data as his run data? When this is simply not the case? The van data is only a guide to where they are for the website.

I would say that his 2015 London Marathon time is legit. I overtook him at the 21 mile point I was running consistent 6.40 miles but he was dying on his backside at this point so him finishing in 3.07 sounds about right.

This current story is bizarre in the extreme. It does bring into question many of the statements in the book. What a way to spend a Friday evening.

Great response and I agree with all of it except the last part. Where in my post did I "insist without evidence" that all the quotes on that page are made up? Never happened dawg.

And besides that, look at the quotes lol. Why would I care if they are true or not because there is no context around any of them, just flashy names.

REPORTER: Paula, did you here that Rob Young ate 40 bananas in 10 minutes while blindfolded and suspended in midair above a tank of great white sharks?

PAULA RADCLIFFE: This is amazing! Congratulations

So in the end, we agree:

What your finding supports - Rob doesn't lie about EVERYTHING.

What it has no bearing on - the validity of Rob's self-reported current and past running exploits.

With regards to the former, seems like Rob is batting maybe .300 in terms of telling the truth. Great for getting the call up from triple A Albuquerque. Not so great for him trying to convince us that any of this "record run" is true.

rojo wrote:

1) Since this thread started three days ago, how many miles has he run?

2) How many miles per day was he running before this thread was started?

3) How many miles did he run in the three days before this thread was started?

At 6am on June 7, he is in Clinton, MO. At this moment (4:00 eastern on June 10) he is in Warrenton, MO. That's 166 miles in 3 days and 10 hours. At most, that's 50 miles/day.

Prior to that he'd been reporting 70 and 80 mile days. I can't get more specific then that because the tracking data has been taken down.

Zombie wrote:

curiously interested wrote:

[quote]The Donger wrote:

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.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&thread=7355147&id=7359659#7359659

His marathon PR is still listed in a drop down screen on his website. Go to

http://www.marathonmanuk.co.uk/

and click the red box with a little white down arrow at the middle top of the screen. Also lists a 1:08 HM PR.

Thanks for clarifying. Good to have correct information. I didn't spot this dubious marathon PR on the website. I had looked at the menu options on the bottom of the screen.

Since he claimed 30:47 as a 10K PR, and it looks like that was actually the second 7K leg of a duathlon, I wonder where these claims of a 1:08 half and a 2:41 originate? Those are no where near any of his verifiable results. Documentation would be nice.

'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'm no kinesiologist, but in the videos I saw him running, his left foot swings outward, & then back in~it does NOT move in a straight line.

I've seen some pretty fast people with sloppy form, but I've yet to see anyone running the times he claims with this form.

Did anyone else notice it?

How does this *expert* quantify running form?

romaniavsfrance wrote:

Apologies if anyone has posted this already but I could not be bothered to go through entire thread but here's a 2004 forum post about the triathlon

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/triathlon/european-long-course-champs/41553.html

4th post confirms Rob young came third

Is it a real championship? You can find any tin pot race on the Internet.

Somehow this entire championship has disappeared.

On wiki his 10km was 30:47 now it says 7km apparently in a duathlon. 1:08 for a marathon & he's killing himself to do 6 mins of on parkrun. Of course you don't need great pace for ultra but aif one is a lie the other follows.