Is this another run cheat?

There is a very wide bridge he often travels going south, GPS signal should be ok.

When he is running the GPS path sticks to the outside of the bridge, consistent with where you would run.

This for example was a run out/back

https://www.strava.com/activities/1039592305/overview

The example below shows running on the outside during the first part of the run, then down the middle for the 2nd part of the run(ride).

https://www.strava.com/activities/1104254489/overview

When I follow the GPS trail it constantly puts the "ride" in the centre while the run's down the outside. Unfortunately there are heaps of anomalies.

So what now?

Just chatting on here about him won't change anything.

Is this going to be like the Darren Kavinoky thread - following him every day for weeks on here exposing him, yet just allowing the "run" to finish and no-one outside of here ever getting to hear he cheated the whole thing?

In 2014 this forum exposed Larry Macon and pal scammer Parvaneh with their thousands of fake marathons. Didn't make a scrap of difference. They just carried on.

Then Marathon Investigators exposed them, and STILL nothing changed, and Guinness keep giving them world records.

You can even show their fans the investigations and five minutes later they are back hailing them as inspirational heroes.

Rob Young seems to be a rare exception that got closed down. But even now with him, people still believe he's a hero too.

I think we need to get a story published with some quality evidence.

There seems to be a few in the group with the ability to provide solid evidence in a way that may persuade a story to be written. Throw it at his support people and try to get access to his full Garmin data etc. He needs to provide a credible explanation for his data.

good point wrote:

I think we need to get a story published with some quality evidence.

Yes, that is the plan. I'm going to take some time to process all the new data files and update the report. Then, you guys can review the new report to check it makes sense and everyone is satisfied. Then, the hard part is to see which journalists we can get to cover the story. I can contact Marathon Investigations to see if Derek is interested but I would need the help of you guys to contact other journalists since I don't have very much luck getting responses. And if course, we should post on URC since people there may have contacts.

I believe our goal is not to make someone never run again, but rather to make them aware that they have our attention and that if they try claiming cheated runs again, we will be there to expose it.

Note that it's going to take me a few days to look through all the new data and update the report. In the mean time, you guys can keep checking to see if we have missed any scenarios that could provide an alternative explanation for Samir's data.

Mike Rozzi wrote:

Beware the mileage champions wrote:

Ok, my next observation is even more interesting and damning.

I assume you are Indian.

- How well known is this guy?

- Would people easily recognize him if he was on a bike in Mumbai? Or is it so crowded that nobody pays attention?

- Is it common for Indian cyclists to hide their face (e.g. with sunglasses, mask against pollution, helmet)?

I am asking these question to assess if he would have done the biking parts himself or if he used an accomplice.

This guy was not known much before the event started. He is a running coach in Mumbai, so trains a group of folks, but I doubt many folks in wider Mumbai might have been aware of him. However, that all changed after the event started, and he is basically now known and popular across the country.

Yes, people will recognize him on a bike in Mumbai now, or during later stages of his run streak earlier. His face was all over the social media, so I will doubt he will take the risk of cycling out in the open, irrespective of the traffic etc. I don't think it would be done hiding face etc, just having another person doing it seems to be simpler proposition than taking this risk. Yes, people do wear sunglasses, helmets (masks less so), but seems like an avoidable risk.

Bridge to Disaster wrote:

There is a very wide bridge he often travels going south, GPS signal should be ok.

When he is running the GPS path sticks to the outside of the bridge, consistent with where you would run.

This for example was a run out/back

https://www.strava.com/activities/1039592305/overview

The example below shows running on the outside during the first part of the run, then down the middle for the 2nd part of the run(ride).

https://www.strava.com/activities/1104254489/overview

When I follow the GPS trail it constantly puts the "ride" in the centre while the run's down the outside. Unfortunately there are heaps of anomalies.

Excellent observation. The devil is always in the details.

scam_watcheroo wrote:

I'm going to take some time to process all the new data files and update the report. Then, you guys can review the new report to check it makes sense and everyone is satisfied. Then, the hard part is to see which journalists we can get to cover the story. I can contact Marathon Investigations to see if Derek is interested but I would need the help of you guys to contact other journalists since I don't have very much luck getting responses. And if course, we should post on URC since people there may have contacts.

One journalistic contact could be Ken Stone of the Times of San Diego. He has an online blog which is very active and is usually updated three or four times a week. He may be able to provide other contacts.

Regarding presenting the story to the outside world you will probably have more success if it comes across as an informed laying out of the evidence rather than a rant. If the tone of the report is "This guy's a lying, cheating scumbag because . . . . . And here's more evidence he's a lying, cheating scumbag . . . . . And then the scumbag did this . . . . ." The reader will probably stop reading after the first couple of paragraphs. Instead you should reveal the information in a neutral manner and let the reader come to the conclusion. Ideally the reader should reach the conclusion before you present your conclusion. The New Yorker article on Kip Litton is a good example of this. Basically you are writing for an informed person who has no particular passion about running but does have a passion for a good story.

Below was info from his Facebook page. Seems to rule out scenarios like multiple watches etc. should also not his fb page started 66 days into the attempt. Also puts focus on his younger brother.

No. of days of running = 100

No. of days 100km completed = 96 days straight, 98 days in all

No. of days 100km target missed = 2 (Day-96, Day-99)

Total Distance covered in 100 days = 9,964.19km

Total uncovered distance = 36km

Average distance of 100 days = 99.64km

* Total hours of running (h:m:s) = 1270:55:58 hrs

(Out of 97 days)

No. of days 100km completed under 12hr = 19

No. of days 100km completed between 12-13 hrs = 33

No. of days 100km completed in over 13 hrs = 45

Average running time = 12.77 hr

Fastest Run - Day-44 = 9.42 hr

Slowest Run - Day-8 = 16.43 hr

Shortest Run - Day-96 = 45km

Longest Run - Day-98 = 130 km

Hospital visits = 4

Weight loss = 16kg

Health issues = blisters, boils, chipped off nails, loss of body fluids, swollen right knee, stomach infection, loose motions, fever

Follow team = 0

Support team = 1 (younger brother)

Clothing used -

Shorts = 1 pair

T-shirt = 4

Shoes = 3 (Vibram, Skinners, Nike Shoes)

Gadgets carried during the run -

Garmin Watch = 1

Mobile phone = 1

Audio gadget = 0

* Total No. of Full Marathon's run in 100 days = 236

Marathon Investigations always a good one. Though even when he does a detailed story, the cheats usually just carry on anyway.

URC MIGHT let you post if there was bomb proof evidence, otherwise Gary will just delete your post and of course ban you, accusing you of being a "fake profile".

It's disappointing there is lack of interest on this one.

RY really captured everyone's attention as it was a Brit trying to get a pretty famous US transcon record. I think how he talked himself up also annoyed plenty.

While Samir clearly cheated, he was chasing no records and indeed create no new records as even if he got to 10,000km it would not be recognised by anyone. I'm sure it will make zero difference to publish a story as he has no sponsors to answer to, but will certainly be nice to have the truth turn up as a story when you Google the Faith Runner.

lack of interest wrote:

It's disappointing there is lack of interest on this one.

RY really captured everyone's attention as it was a Brit trying to get a pretty famous US transcon record. I think how he talked himself up also annoyed plenty.

While Samir clearly cheated, he was chasing no records and indeed create no new records as even if he got to 10,000km it would not be recognised by anyone. I'm sure it will make zero difference to publish a story as he has no sponsors to answer to, but will certainly be nice to have the truth turn up as a story when you Google the Faith Runner.

It's early days yet, and this thread is hardly interesting to the casual observer.

It needs to cater for the non tech geeks who don't understand all the data stuff.

Just summerise it all.

I'm sure the likes of Scam _ Watcheroo can make it more readable in due course.

Derek at Marathon Investigation will get the word out.

If the proof is clarified and presented to the media I guess there will be more interest.

Might pick up when he starts this new stunt. Then we can have a thread NAMING him properly and following him.

Lets not forget he has made thousands of dollars scamming the public. You think those people would have donated to a cheat? So has made as much, if not more money, than if he had sponsors

His running path makes no sense, it only makes sense for a bike. (go to km 61.3)

https://www.strava.com/activities/1104254489/overview

This activity is very interesting, while biking he travels over a bridge and along the Western Expressway, next to the BWSL Promenade (a popular running spot). Despite the perfect place to run he stays on the road and then takes the off-ramp instead of taking the footpaths.

This is the only time I can find he went this way.

Why would you not run on the promenade which is perfect for running.

Why take the off-ramp when running, as the footpath joins an underpass. His pace hits 2:35m/km average down the ramp which is a 3-7% gradient.

Biking on the road wrote:

His running path makes no sense, it only makes sense for a bike. (go to km 61.3)

https://www.strava.com/activities/1104254489/overview

This activity is very interesting, while biking he travels over a bridge and along the Western Expressway, next to the BWSL Promenade (a popular running spot). Despite the perfect place to run he stays on the road and then takes the off-ramp instead of taking the footpaths.

This is the only time I can find he went this way.

Why would you not run on the promenade which is perfect for running.

Why take the off-ramp when running, as the footpath joins an underpass. His pace hits 2:35m/km average down the ramp which is a 3-7% gradient.

How the hell did no one catch him? Well, we are watching now. Is he really going to ride on the next stunt knowing we are watching the data?

Do people never come out and run with him? All those occasions he swapped to a bike or got another person to cycle and not one person ever saw?

His wall is open on facebook. Can we not go public with this yet and post on all his threads that we know he rode a bike?

Otherwise this scam will just carry on.

How the hell did no one catch him?

He didn't get any attention at all until nearly the 70th day when his FB launched. He usually ran a fair bit of each day legitimately - often over 50km when he could be seen as much as he wanted. That one section would convince most people who ran with him.

2nd part of the day passed his watch to an accomplice who was just a nobody riding his bike around the city. No reason for anyone to believe they were connected with Samir. I'm sure he was at home with his feet up.

The fact that he actually ran a lot and really did lose heaps of weight would be convincing. There is a huge difference between running 50km per day to running 100km.

Hold on until Scam_watcheroo looks over the data.

So what now? wrote:

So what now?

Just chatting on here about him won't change anything.

Is this going to be like the Darren Kavinoky thread - following him every day for weeks on here exposing him, yet just allowing the "run" to finish and no-one outside of here ever getting to hear he cheated the whole thing?

In 2014 this forum exposed Larry Macon and pal scammer Parvaneh with their thousands of fake marathons. Didn't make a scrap of difference. They just carried on.

Then Marathon Investigators exposed them, and STILL nothing changed, and Guinness keep giving them world records.

You can even show their fans the investigations and five minutes later they are back hailing them as inspirational heroes.

Rob Young seems to be a rare exception that got closed down. But even now with him, people still believe he's a hero too.

Yes, look at Larry's facebook. Exposed on here for years and on Marathon Investigation, but still thousands of supporters and still claiming fake Guinness records.

How do you stop these people if even exposing them doesn't stop them, OR their ridiculous fanboys?

bump

Does anyone know of a way to compile a full list of his strava records of the 100 days? We have a small subset so far.

Also I read he is talking about a 12,000km challenge, does anyone have a link to any details? I've tried myself but have found no specifics of this challenge just the number 12,000km. Would hate for LR to miss the start of any challenge.

So nothing has gone public over this and everyone still thinks he's a hero.

Just like the Larry Macons and Parvaneh's of this world.

Too many of these scammers getting away with it.