Boston Bib on EBay: Either its an April Fools Joke or this guy is not that smart!!!

tankerdoozle wrote:

not like situations, but I don't see how its all black and white. Big marathons should be forced to come up with a better system.

Yes. It is black and white.

You agree to the terms the race sets when you register. Nobody is "forcing" you to do anything.

How do you "force" an entity to change a contract you agreed to? Do you own or run a business? Do you allow people to apply the rules that suit their needs and ignore the ones they don't or are inconvenient? Do you then happily take on any liability that causes?

This post has probably taken off since we have all begun to taper. A little extra time with nothing better to do (or if there is something better to do, we haven't figured it out, therefore we run).

Now, is anyone going to hang out to wait for Mike to show up to see if/what the BAA does anything with him?

Although I posted early in this, I agree with Mr McVeigh. I wouldn't personally rat him out. For those who are angry that it happened however, keep in mind the folks at the BAA are also runners and probably troll this site like the rest of us.

Lastly, the difference between say a bandit and Mike (or the rest of us who are running officially) is that we have signed our name agreeing to the terms and conditions of the BAA. In life, there are many things you can't control. My signature is my word and that, I hold dearly.

Your hypothetical would not carry all that much water. For one thing, this person would not be considered an official entrant in the Boston Marathon--bib number or not. All official entrants must complete the required paperwork, waiving their rights and claims for liability and damages against the BAA for any and all injuries (or death) suffered by the entrant.

This person would not be an entrant in the Boston Marathon, but rather a bandit who has a number.

I can imagine him pleading his case, in the hypothetical, after sustaining his knee injury:

"So, I broke the law by committing fraud and falsifying my identity. Now I would like to sue the BAA for sustaining an injury in a race I was never sanctioned to participate in, and am not officially recognized as a participant in. In fact, I was not registered as entrant and I am not in the results--but I do have this piece of paper with a race number on it!"

Anyways, all people would be subject to Massachusetts state law. Chapter 397 of the Acts of 1998 will give you an idea on False Impersonation and the punishment. While I will not question the morals of this Ebayer, I do know he signed a contract with the BAA stating he would not "reproduce or transfer [my] running number" on "pain of my and my transferee's disqualification from this and future competitions." Thus both the Ebayer and the winning bidder would be DQ'ed anway.

My long-winded point . . . the BAA have covered their bases and should not need to worry about lawsuits from unregistered, illegal participants.

It'd be pretty funny to see someone wearing bib #1071 come across the line in 5 hours... wearing a jogging suit and an iPod.

All this talk about ebay got me poking around for other sheninangans. Anyhow, I came across this apparently radically "NEW SPEED TRAINING RESISTANCE PARACHUTE RUNNING CHUTE":

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SPEED-TRAINING-RESISTANCE-PARACHUTE-RUNNING-CHUTE_W0QQitemZ220216149508QQihZ012QQcategoryZ2913QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Anyone add this to their High-Altitude VO2-Max workouts yet?

I bought one of those but I thought it was a fart catcher.

I'm gonna ask for my money back.

I know this guy. He is a well meaning, polite Christian sort (father is a pastor) who has been telling the media for years he is aiming for the Olympic trials. He did this even when a 2:50 marathoner. To his credit he has worked his time down to 2:29 but races usually only in midsized to small races in which he can win. He was recently dusted at the small Sarasota Marathon. The fact that he broadcasts this OTQ stuff to the press is laughable but the press eats it up and prints stuff as if he is the next great white hope of the marathon.

All that said, what he is doing does equate to scalping and is illegal. The potential buyer would have to run the race in Mike's name.

Mike, if youre reading, you should know better.

Tip to anyone foolish enough to buy someone's Boston entry - - borrow a friend's number and photocopy it if youre that desperate to run the race with a number on along with your "Go insert name here" tshirt.

not a Boston runner wrote:

It'd be pretty funny to see someone wearing bib #1071 come across the line in 5 hours... wearing a jogging suit and an iPod.

Do you suppose Tom is the high bidder for the Boston number?

The runnersworld crowd is up in arms too. They even give Letsrun some props.

http://forums.runnersworld.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/763106038/m/9031095454/r/9171001654#9171001654

I can't believe he still has this item up. Now its over 400$

to me it would not be worth it to be banned from Boston for life, which is likely outcome. I am working registration saturday and it will be busy but I will be looking for this number.

I'm not sure, but I don't imagine there would be any way one of the individual workers at packet pickup could rightfully deny handing out the bib/chip/packet to someone who is officially entered and comes to pick up his/her materials. That would have to be a decision made by the BAA, and I would think they would pull the bib from the box before they begin handing any of them out (IF they decide to deny it to the official entrant, which they have the right to do). Of course, the entrant could always claim this whole thing was just an April Fool's Day Joke ... which it actually might be.

I saw that a lady on the Jogger's World forum has actually called the BAA to report this guy. If you're going to be that anal, you also need to spend every Sat and Sunday scanning races and even jogging trails telling everyone who wears an ipod or pushing a stroller that you're going to report them. Geez, get a life ...

WOW!

The people on the RW forum are dicks!

I thought people on Letsrun were bad, they just look like mean-spirited people.

Setting aside for the moment the ethical questions this auction raises, it seems very strange for him to use so public a forum as EBay to sell a number for a very major race. Wouldn't you think he'd know this was pretty brazen and that someone would likely report him? Even if you don't favor "ratting him out," it would be easy to conclude that w/ so many other runners viewing the ad, someone would report the guy to BAA--and/or BAA people could find the ad on their own.

At the same time, I think race organizers should definitely look into cancellation policies that allow runners to officially transfer numbers to others. The cost of running a marathon is rising steadily, and that's just for the race itself, aside from the hotel and airfare. Even marathons that don't require qualifying require a long-term commitment to enter, and they thus become all the more expensive to back out of.

The E-Bay thing is over the top. But it points to a problem that if addressed could prevent "number scalping" of this kind.

The seller is not only putting his own racing future at risk but also that of whoever buys the number. Is it really worth the $400+ he gets for the number?

thats not a huge ass hole move at all.......btw, his entry card is up for 405$, w000t haha

I withdraw what I said. I thought it was a literal bib # from a previous year, not his entry. I just now read on in the thread. My bad

Haha ... That's not a bad idea. Maybe I should sell my bib#'s from previous Boston Marathons. I have them from 1996 thru 2004. (I'd have to track down the ones from pre-2000 though, they're in storage somewhere) Wonder what they'd fetch on Ebay ?!?!?!

Blaze wrote:

I withdraw what I said. I thought it was a literal bib # from a previous year, not his entry. I just now read on in the thread. My bad

Here is a gem of a question:

Q: Since you are answering questions so freely, here's what I don't get. Why would a potentially world class marathoner take the risk of being banned not only from Boston, but by the USATF, for selling a bib? I assme at your speed you have sponsors; why risk pissing them off? And why would an elite want to risk having a potentially very slow race time on his "permanent record" in a WMM race? Apr-03-08

A: Put it this way...I can't run, why not let someone else? I don't have an image problem and would be offended if someone finished in 5+ hours. I have run many marathons around 2:30 and some at 5+ hours with people training for their first. No matter what time one finishes in, we are all still doing the same thing.

Everyone is a 2:30 Thonner wrote:

Here is a gem of a question:

Q: Since you are answering questions so freely, here's what I don't get. Why would a potentially world class marathoner take the risk of being banned not only from Boston, but by the USATF, for selling a bib? I assme at your speed you have sponsors; why risk pissing them off? And why would an elite want to risk having a potentially very slow race time on his "permanent record" in a WMM race? Apr-03-08

A: Put it this way...I can't run, why not let someone else? I don't have an image problem and would be offended if someone finished in 5+ hours. I have run many marathons around 2:30 and some at 5+ hours with people training for their first. No matter what time one finishes in, we are all still doing the same thing.

2:30 is not elite, and he is an arrogant prick.

at least he's not lying about his qualifying time.