robbiey wrote:
UK runners: is this guy legit? Ben Smith:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-37553060He is basically doing the same thing as Rob's 370 marathons.
His Strava profile is private and he has turned off Flyby's:
https://www.strava.com/activities/582173429
What is it with Brit runners being scam artists? My BS horn is blaring. That Been Smith guy sounds like an exact copy of Rob Young. We need some boots on the ground when Smith inevitably tries a trans con.
robbiey wrote:
UK runners: is this guy legit? Ben Smith:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-37553060He is basically doing the same thing as Rob's 370 marathons.
His Strava profile is private and he has turned off Flyby's:
https://www.strava.com/activities/582173429
I ran with Ben a few days ago and would say that he is legit. Here are some differences between him and Rob Young.
1.All of his "marathons" are documented well in advance with timings and a route map
2. He actively reaches out to local running clubs / groups to join him so usually has 5-10 people running the whole route with him
3. He doesn't run further than the 26.2 every day
4. He has given up his job / house to fund it so isn't having to fit it all in around a full time job.
5. He's taking 6/7 hours for each one. Not banging out 3:30s every day.
6.he stated that when he finishes that will be it. No more record attempts.
7. All the runs are well documented on his Facebook page with plenty of pictures.
Yes, absolutely.
I ran with him last week and although on the face of it what he and Rob were both attempting seems similar, they are very different. Ben has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for legitimate charities and is not trying to break a world record or do any of this for himself.
He gave a talk before we ran and described how he had contacted Guinness and that their definition of the world record for multiple marathons was too restrictive for what he wanted to achieve, so he decided not to bother with a record attempt. I am a slow runner and Ben was glad to run at the back with me and stop when we needed to, explaining that it is not about fast times and all about inclusivity and helping people.
I really hope he is legit. 3 ultra cheats in one year for the UK would be too much. To be fair it seems to be ok.
That said my view is that all these x hundred marathons over x hundred days things are done by individuals seeking fame, worship, adulation etc, i.e. they all exhibit the rob young narcissistic traits and pretend the main aim is charity
back to young: we'll never prove he didn't do the 370 marathons or whatever his silly claim is but is anyone looking into his 300+mile run/van ride ?
robbiey wrote:
UK runners: is this guy legit? Ben Smith:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-37553060He is basically doing the same thing as Rob's 370 marathons.
His Strava profile is private and he has turned off Flyby's:
https://www.strava.com/activities/582173429
Yes - he has had people running with him everyday and scads of information released. He deliberately ran most slowly with plenty of breaks and took selfies with everyone who ran with him. I ran in his final marathon in Bristol today, there were over 300 of us.
26.poo wrote:
robbiey wrote:UK runners: is this guy legit? Ben Smith:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-37553060He is basically doing the same thing as Rob's 370 marathons.
His Strava profile is private and he has turned off Flyby's:
https://www.strava.com/activities/5821734293. He doesn't run further than the 26.2 every day
Not quite strictly accurate - when he was injured and forced to stop for 10 days he then added extra distance to every subsequent day to ensure he genuinely ran 401 x 26.2 miles in total.
This one is definitely legit, and unlike RY incredibly modest, claiming no snazzy records or flashy sponsors. His two charities were in much evidence today - along with one runner in a kilt and one in DCT vest, both of whom made me do double-takes in case it was RY trying to jump on the bandwagon!
Howard Dean wrote:
More inconsistencies. He said the following on the SKINS Blog:
"Secondly, Rob believes they’ve gone in too fit. “When you start a challenge like this in professional race shape, you deteriorate in fitness and body weight, and when you’re already in ideal shape you can’t afford to lose any weight. But if you go in slightly overweight by 6 or 7 kilograms, you’ll have enough weight to carry you through. That way, when your food does burn out, your body can burn that extra weight rather than eating into your muscles.†But how does a super-fit marathon-a-day runner lose fitness and gain weight? Rob’s secret is in his diet." (https://www.skins.net/usa/marathon-man-goes-usa)
So which is it Rob? Were you running 70-80 miles per day to get fit, or were you letting your body get 6-7kg overweight and not train too much so that you don't burn out fast?
I can help Rob there (and anyone else tempted to believe this bullshit), if "your food does burn out" you eat/drink more food. Where's Dr Kipps when need him.
Sarah Aldridge wrote:
Yes, absolutely.
I ran with him last week and although on the face of it what he and Rob were both attempting seems similar, they are very different. Ben has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for legitimate charities and is not trying to break a world record or do any of this for himself.
He gave a talk before we ran and described how he had contacted Guinness and that their definition of the world record for multiple marathons was too restrictive for what he wanted to achieve, so he decided not to bother with a record attempt. I am a slow runner and Ben was glad to run at the back with me and stop when we needed to, explaining that it is not about fast times and all about inclusivity and helping people.
You sound just like one of Rob Young's Facebook supporters, right down to the charity scam angle. I will assume Ben Smith is just another Rob Young clone unless there is real evidence proving otherwise.
racergirl wrote:
26.poo wrote:3. He doesn't run further than the 26.2 every day
Not quite strictly accurate - when he was injured and forced to stop for 10 days he then added extra distance to every subsequent day to ensure he genuinely ran 401 x 26.2 miles in total.
This one is definitely legit, and unlike RY incredibly modest, claiming no snazzy records or flashy sponsors. His two charities were in much evidence today - along with one runner in a kilt and one in DCT vest, both of whom made me do double-takes in case it was RY trying to jump on the bandwagon!
He seems a lot more professional that Rob, with even a shop:
https://www.facebook.com/the401challenge/shop?rid=640112516120618&rt=9http://www.the401challenge.co.uk/sponsorsI don't have any evidence he isn't legit, but there are some odd things, at least at first sight:
- why would he make his Strava profile private if he wants as much attention as possible for the charities?
- why does it seem like there is no Strava date from November till mid January?
- why would he turn off Strava Flyby's?
Is this his PowerOf10 profile?
http://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=734241Has he any history as a fast marathon runner or as an ultra runner?
robbiey wrote:
He seems a lot more professional that Rob, with even a shop:
https://www.facebook.com/the401challenge/shop?rid=640112516120618&rt=9http://www.the401challenge.co.uk/sponsors
Excellent find. This proves that this Ben Smith guy isn't doing it "for the kids". He's getting paid for it from sponsorship for his sob story and "charity work", just like our Rob Young. Did they both go to the same grifting seminar? Their similarities are striking. They could be twins.
robbiey wrote:
Is this his PowerOf10 profile?
http://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=734241
Yes, that's him, he was at the Pontypridd Reverse 10
I skimmed RY's book recently (don't worry, I didn't pay for it). From the early part about his many marathons in one year:
"My next concern was getting verification for my achievements. How would anyone know I'd actually done the marathons? I needed witnesses to verify my story and, as soon as possible, GPS tracking."
Right, so when did he start using a GPS watch? Did he EVER do that for those hundreds of marathons? Of course he didn't really need to 'cause he brought his girlfriend along to witness the runs. As he tells her:
"I won't be alone. You're coming."
Well, as it turns out she only turns up at the end of that first run. (And then he goes straight to work without a shower.)
How the hell did anyone ever buy into this story?
Dr. Obvious wrote:
Excellent find. This proves that this Ben Smith guy isn't doing it "for the kids". He's getting paid for it from sponsorship for his sob story and "charity work", just like our Rob Young. Did they both go to the same grifting seminar? Their similarities are striking. They could be twins.
Ben is totally legit and he is a top bloke I assure you. I ran with him and organised his lunch stop when he was round my way. He always 'runs' to the slowest person so many of his marathons are essentially walk-fests; but the distance always gets covered.
He's a completely different beast to Rob. Ben doesn't pretend to be in the least bit remarkable with regards to his running talent.
He's pretty bright too. Unlike Rob who let's face it, isn't just the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Keep this thread about Rob Young and post anything on Ben Smith at the following thread:
Kipped. wrote:
Howard Dean wrote:More inconsistencies. He said the following on the SKINS Blog:
"Secondly, Rob believes they’ve gone in too fit. “When you start a challenge like this in professional race shape, you deteriorate in fitness and body weight, and when you’re already in ideal shape you can’t afford to lose any weight. But if you go in slightly overweight by 6 or 7 kilograms, you’ll have enough weight to carry you through. That way, when your food does burn out, your body can burn that extra weight rather than eating into your muscles.†But how does a super-fit marathon-a-day runner lose fitness and gain weight? Rob’s secret is in his diet." (https://www.skins.net/usa/marathon-man-goes-usa)
So which is it Rob? Were you running 70-80 miles per day to get fit, or were you letting your body get 6-7kg overweight and not train too much so that you don't burn out fast?
I can help Rob there (and anyone else tempted to believe this bullshit), if "your food does burn out" you eat/drink more food. Where's Dr Kipps when need him.
I weighed 130 pounds in San Francisco, 128 by halfway and was still 128 by the time we reached New York. Your body simply adapts to the workload. You'll only lose weight if you're overweight to begin with.
Rob iis coming to my hometown to give a talk in a fortnight which puts me in a dilemma. One the one hand, I could go along and ask some rather awkward questions, but the problem is that I object to the idea of paying money to listen to him.
stevepope wrote:
Kipped. wrote:I can help Rob there (and anyone else tempted to believe this bullshit), if "your food does burn out" you eat/drink more food. Where's Dr Kipps when need him.
I weighed 130 pounds in San Francisco, 128 by halfway and was still 128 by the time we reached New York. Your body simply adapts to the workload. You'll only lose weight if you're overweight to begin with.
Rob iis coming to my hometown to give a talk in a fortnight which puts me in a dilemma. One the one hand, I could go along and ask some rather awkward questions, but the problem is that I object to the idea of paying money to listen to him.
where is this? I'm sure a few guys in the UK could make it uncomfortable for the superhero.
Is there any agency in the UK that can look into the charity fraud aspect of this?
I don't know anything about UK law, but I would think something could be done. People there have been jailed for tweets, I saw some headline about an investigation launched into a video game (No Man's Sky) for false advertising...it just seems that this kind of potential fraud should register with the powers that be.
I don't trust Robert Young. He has obviously lied about many, many things, and if he's ripping off charities too, justice should be served. If he truly has given all the money as he claims, then he's just a fraud as a runner and there's no reason to pursue him further IMHO. His running "career" is over, but the auto parts shop might hire him back since he's such a nice guy.
FB investigator wrote:
I added 'Phil Turner' on Facebook (alleged fake fan profile) and immediately received a message saying "who are you?".
If it was really fake, I doubt someone would be signed into the account and reply that quickly.
He's not fake, just a dedicated troll. Posted about the "misogynist haters" over on Kaiha's Facebook too.
Rob is pulling off one huge scam in terms of documenting or having run's witnessed. Having somebody take 1 photo or see you finish a run does not constitute a witness. Even having a film crew tape you for 20 minutes one day does not mean you didn't cheat that night. Does he think we believe he got a witness up each morning at 3am?
Ever single runner I know manages to record every single run on their GPS and upload it to Strava within minutes of finishing a run. Apparently this is too hard for Robert Young.
He would have you believe he is technologically challenged, although previously was in the Royal Corps of Signals. In his book he also mentions he maintained to company websites and was "at home with code".
He will always skim over the lies and cheating with board statements like "I made mistakes", without offering any detail. He has made so many contradictions I think we need a new blog titled "Things Rob Young said"
Dr. Obvious wrote:
robbiey wrote:He seems a lot more professional that Rob, with even a shop:
https://www.facebook.com/the401challenge/shop?rid=640112516120618&rt=9http://www.the401challenge.co.uk/sponsorsExcellent find. This proves that this Ben Smith guy isn't doing it "for the kids". He's getting paid for it from sponsorship for his sob story and "charity work", just like our Rob Young. Did they both go to the same grifting seminar? Their similarities are striking. They could be twins.
So this Ben guy is another scammer? What is it with these ultra people?