Robert Young fakes run across America

The splits in that London Marathon race for RY are very odd, the first 5K is the best part of 1.5 mins better than any 5K he has ever logged on power of 10. The 5K split is very similar to Paula Radcliffe (running her farewell marathon) although they probably went off different starts. But at 5K the starts have all joined, and they'd have been running within a few seconds of each other as they went over the timing mat, I wonder if he tried to go with her to 10K?Looking at the splits, I was close behind RY at the half way timing mat, but running even splits, and went on to run a 2.46. Even if he stopped for an interview, his 5K splits in the second half are progressively worse. If he'd run evenly he would probably have broken 3 hours, probably low 2.50. .

Yeah he started the race and jumped in the van and waited for Paula to come by for a photo.

London is such a hard (I mean notorious) marathon for cheating.

Supposedly RY had just run two marathons in one day prior to London while "running" in the Race Across the US.

No one has ever figured exactly how he managed that...He was so successful that he figured no one would catch on when returned to drive across the US again.

Guys we need more banter, it's almost September! You know what that means...

Speaking of which, can anyone recall if they gave a particular date for the conclusion of their investigation? Or was it just September? No sense getting excited yet when it could be another 30 days.

It's a given that he is 100% guilty but....a question.

Does anyone think that it would look better for RY if it turns out he hasn't wiped all his data from his TomTom account/Strava, laptop and watches? That way at least he hasn't gone even further to try to hide evidence? Given he hasn't tried to get out in front and admit anything this seems unlikely.

Is there anything RY can do to salvage even a tiny bit of his character, or is denial going to be his thing? Dropped by Skins, deny everything and continue with a few fans hoping we have short memories.

I'm so interested in the report to see the true nature of his character, it's not just what he has done it's also how he has gone about it.

I don't think it will make a difference either way. I think there is a good chance his 'career' is over. No Facebook updates in over a month, and as I have now discovered, both of the charities he is doing events for soon (This is Epic and the Aegis Trust) are ones he has worked with before.

In other words, they were suckered by the RY charm long before the Transcon. So perhaps the only organisations who will touch him are ones he knew beforehand, who have not yet accepted the truth about him. Hopefully they too will drop him once the investigation is published.

I did eventually receive a reply from 'This is Epic' and it is clear they believe RY could do no wrong and they consider him 'a friend'. I told them they can wait for the investigation if they wish but their credibility is suffering as long as they associate with RY.

I noticed on their promo picture they describe Rob as 'one of the UK's top ultra runners'. How can someone like him be described in this way? Does anyone even know of any actual ultra races he has taken part in? Admittedly, they wouldn't appear on powerof10 so might be hard to locate, but the only one I know about it Ennerdale 50k in 2014.

This is a small, low-key, fairly uncompetitive off-road ultra in the Lake District. He came 10th, out of 53 people. A solid performance, but nevertheless, more than an hour behind the winner, ie, more than 25% slower. This hardly puts him up there with the UK's top ultra runners.

Hi Adam's Grandma here

Adam is desperate for sponsors for his next scam

10 marathon in 10 days all under 3 hours.......he is looking for a good charity scam to help with his lifestyle costs.

The terms of reference with Pielke and Tucker said they would publish the findings by Sept. 30th. The investigation was supposed to be wrapped up by Aug. 31st.

Adam Hollands Grandma wrote:

Hi Adam's Grandma here

Adam is desperate for sponsors for his next scam

10 marathon in 10 days all under 3 hours.......he is looking for a good charity scam to help with his lifestyle costs.

Grandma, won't he need gas money for the RV? Those behemoths only get 6-10 mpg on a good day.

Phil Knight wrote:

The terms of reference with Pielke and Tucker said they would publish the findings by Sept. 30th. The investigation was supposed to be wrapped up by Aug. 31st.

So Sept 30 but the latest is how I read it but maybe sooner. Although potentially Skins may hold it for longer after that (or release it's own PR version). Is there anything that says the full version will be released public? I could imagine Skin's could make themselves public enemy #1 if they don't give us the FULL juicy details.

Guilty wrote:

Phil Knight wrote:

The terms of reference with Pielke and Tucker said they would publish the findings by Sept. 30th. The investigation was supposed to be wrapped up by Aug. 31st.

So Sept 30 but the latest is how I read it but maybe sooner. Although potentially Skins may hold it for longer after that (or release it's own PR version). Is there anything that says the full version will be released public? I could imagine Skin's could make themselves public enemy #1 if they don't give us the FULL juicy details.

Dont hold your breath expecting this investigation to fully expose him.

I very much doubt it will. It will be inconclusive. Obviously we all know he's a lying fraudster, just dont expect the investigation to say so.

We need to start arranging what we do when he gets let off.

We going to just let that go?? Like hell we are

Dont hold your breath wrote:

Guilty wrote:

So Sept 30 but the latest is how I read it but maybe sooner. Although potentially Skins may hold it for longer after that (or release it's own PR version). Is there anything that says the full version will be released public? I could imagine Skin's could make themselves public enemy #1 if they don't give us the FULL juicy details.

Dont hold your breath expecting this investigation to fully expose him.

I very much doubt it will. It will be inconclusive. Obviously we all know he's a lying fraudster, just dont expect the investigation to say so.

We need to start arranging what we do when he gets let off.

We going to just let that go?? Like hell we are

Letting him off would be a big mistake; just ask the Lehigh Valley Marathon.

The Rossi discussion died down and posters were respectful while they carried out their "investigation". Everyone assumed that Rossi would be DQ'd as the evidence was ironclad. Then Barb McKeever and the race committee let him off the hook and the thread really went nuclear, only the focus of our ire was now directed both at Rossi and the LVM.

This whole episode needs closure and, if SKINS determines that the evidence is not conclusive, there can be no closure and the scrutiny of Rob Young, his team and SKINS will continue on indefinitely.

Remember:

http://watercooler.skins.net/2016/07/01/investigation-into-rob-young-run/

Looks like it has a recent reply:

[quote]

I ran across the USA in 2011.

I am British and hate to see the reputation of British ultrarunning brought into question.

Below is my recently published letter to Jason Henderson, the Editor of Athletics Weekly, the world respected British athletics magazine.

Dear Jason

As someone who ran across the USA coast to coast with Steve Pope back in 2011 I read this week’s Dip Finish feature on Rob Young with particular interest.

The record for running across the US currently stands at 46 days by Frank Giannino – a world class performance by any standards representing roughly 65 miles per day. This record has stood for 36 years.

Rob Young is surprised and hurt that there are people doubting the authenticity of his run up to the point when he dropped out about 2,000 miles into his attempt to break this record. In my view he shouldn’t be surprised, he should instead consider the facts.

1) His athletic credentials as shown on Power of 10 show a marathon pb of 3.07, a half marathon pb of 91 minutes and a best parkrun time of 18.55 in 85 overall appearances. It is difficult for many to square this with an ability to run 65 -70 miles per day across the US often in the hostile and isolated conditions especially such as those offered by the far Western states.

2) Despite these modest personal bests his own website claims a 10k personal best of 30.47. A far superior performance to anything verifiable on power of 10.

3) He was by his account on track to break Frank’s record beyond halfway but unfortunately his mileage per day fell dramatically when his run was actually observed and his statistics came under the severe and sometimes hostile scrutiny of the US ultra running community.

It is worth remembering that when Yiannis Kouros ran the first Spartathlon as an unknown in 1983 he won it so convincingly that established ultra runners wrongly assumed that he had cheated and he was therefore regarded with scepticism by many . His subsequent performances, under the microscope of scrutiny, proved his doubters wrong and cleared his name of suspicion. My fear is that Rob’s name will be clouded with similar suspicion until he comes up with an independently verifiable world class performance over 6 days or further. I understand that he intends to do just this in 2017 and we look forward to him performing at this level and will watch with great interest. Until he successfully performs when subject to this independent verification the doubts as to his authenticity will naturally and rightly remain.

Chris Finill

Harrow AC

[/quote[

So is Rob still in that RV in the WalMart parking lot? Will he resume his run soon?

Dont hold your breath wrote:

Dont hold your breath expecting this investigation to fully expose him.

I very much doubt it will. It will be inconclusive. Obviously we all know he's a lying fraudster, just dont expect the investigation to say so.

We need to start arranging what we do when he gets let off.

We going to just let that go?? Like hell we are

In my mind it will go 2 ways.

1. 100% guilty due to overwhelming evidence from his devices (if he didn't delete it all)

2. 100% guilty by deleting all evidence.

We know you can't delete activities from TomTom's watches manually, we have all seen the screen shots from his account. The files should be still on his PC.

He's finished.

Out of interest, what would people on here consider 'closure' in regard to RY.

If the investigation is inconclusive but it's enough for his sponsor to consider him damaged goods and to quietly drop him, and other sponsors are reluctant to touch him and as a result he disappears into obscurity, would people be satisfied?

I think RY's motivations are less to do with money and more because he is a narcissist. It's the attention he craves. He was an average runner who decided he wanted to known as an exceptional runner. Rather than put in the daily hard slog for years on end to become an exceptional runner, he decided to just fake it. Much easier, surely. If people stop believing him and he is no longer an object of adoration, is this punishment enough?

I wish Finill and I had thought about faking our run across the USA back in 2011. It would have been so much easier than actually doing it.

What is the preferred recreational vehicle to hire for Brits who are faking a run across the colonies?

Thanks, let's always remember to do it for the children.