Com'on now.
This guy should absolutely receive running related sanctions, but it's just plain mean-spirited to contact employers about a this guy's bizarre running related hobby.
He's already suffering, as a large part of his identity -- being a world class age group runner -- has been debunked. He's now a world class serial cheater. No need to go beyond running.
Kung Pow Chicken wrote:
Com'on now.
This guy should absolutely receive running related sanctions, but it's just plain mean-spirited to contact employers about a this guy's bizarre running related hobby.
He's already suffering, as a large part of his identity -- being a world class age group runner -- has been debunked. He's now a world class serial cheater. No need to go beyond running.
True, but wouldn't want him on any ethics councils.
@Kung Pow, I think the point you make is a generally good one and I could reconsider removing my post. I am able to be convinced to reconsider. If this person were a run of the mill janitor or blue collar person, I would definitely agree with you.
Where I stand right now is that it's highly concerning that someone in the medical profession this high up in the ranks has questionable ethics. I've already seen messages of people who wouldn't want to see a doctor who puts so much effort in premeditated cheating. Who knows what other questionable things that he's done to get to where he is professionally. For such a high stakes position, a CEO really needs to know about something like this. He's one of the faces representing his organization.
I think Kung Pow Chicken is right. No need to go overboard trying to punish Meza in every area of his life. Where does it end? Should we figure out who his neighbors are and make sure they too are notified that they live next door to a road-race cheat? Should we notify his bank? His grandkids?
As far as him being on ethics councils as part of his role as a doctor, I would imagine he is able to compartmentalize the different parts of his life. He is probably capable of making good decisions as a doctor. As a competitive runner, though, his decision-making is terrible. In that area, I believe he should be completely shunned, but to me it seems unnecessarily vengeful to try to destroy his whole existence.
I'm aware that philosophically this argument might be shaky - after all, murderers might sometimes be fine upstanding people except when they're murdering people, but we don't go easy on them - but in this case, and given that it really only involves extracurricular activities, it seems to set a bad precedent to have an internet mob trying to go all vigilante on a road-race cheat.
FWIW, I went through some of Frank’s older photos, and it looks like in a couple of races, he was carrying the D-ring timing chip on a lanyard, either in his hands, or around his neck or ankle. The instructions on those said to secure them to the shoe, if I recall right. There’s even a photo from a San Diego race with Frank dangling the lanyard and what looks to be the D-ring over the final timing mat. Maybe someone can explain why a runner would legitimately carry the D-ring timing chip on a lanyard like that. A friend of mine suggested a mid-race change of shoes as happens in ultras, but in a road marathon, I’d be skeptical of that idea. Any other thoughts?
Here's the link to his 2014 San Diego photos--take a look.
https://www.marathonfoto.com/Proofs?PIN=59D552&lastName=MEZA
And from the 2014 SF marathon. Note the lack of the D-ring on his shoes. Other runners have a white D-ring on their shoes in other photos from the same race.
...and one more point - I think many of the important decisions that affect our lives are made by an assortment of crooks, criminals, perverts, zealots, sociopaths, and the like (i.e. the government) - but if they are able to get the job done reasonably well, we don't worry too much about their personalities (that might be overstating things a little, since about half of all human conversation seems to be attacks on the personalities of politicians, but hopefully you get my meaning).
Kung Pow Chicken wrote:
Com'on now.
This guy should absolutely receive running related sanctions, but it's just plain mean-spirited to contact employers about a this guy's bizarre running related hobby.
He's already suffering, as a large part of his identity -- being a world class age group runner -- has been debunked. He's now a world class serial cheater. No need to go beyond running.
Welcome to the seedy underbelly of cheater threads. There are no decent people to be found. Not the cheaters, not the reporters.
This maneuver with the chip is another page right out of Kip Litton's playbook (along with the delayed start). See Kip's photo from the St. Louis Go Marathon (linked from "The Study of Kip Litton" website):
https://kiplitton.blogspot.com/2011/01/st-louis-marathon-no-splits-at-6mi.html
Of more concern is the fact he coaches kids and the school promotes him as a world record holder.
On every cheating thread you see people who lose their sense of perspective just as surely as you see cheat apologists. The people who lose their sense of perspective badly need to calm down however the cheat apologists are simply one or many of the following:
Trolls
Cheats
Sockpuppets
Contrarians
Amazing, evidence of bizarre premeditated cheating tactics going back over ten years, which have all been raised and dissected on this thread, and in the 2019 LAM alone three separate series of photographic evidence at three separate locations that he cheated.
Another question remains, how did he get around the course?, was he alone?
No cones wrote:
Frank is toast. wrote:
In the video he was stood there for forty five seconds before he started running and I notice that the competitors passing him have to take a wide sweep around the junction keeping to the right of the yellow line in the road.
Frank enters and completly cuts this corner running diagonally and saving himself maybe twenty metres. Not only that there are five marshalls stood right there. Four behind where he enters the course and one just after whom he runs towards and then past. How in hell didn’t that raise a flag? He obviously entered the race right under their noses.
Even if he hadn’t clearly just jumped into the race and cheated, he cut the course by missing that corner which everyone else had to navigate. Crazy.
The course is defined as curb to curb unless there are cones or other markings indicating otherwise. Everyone should have run tight around that turn. Note also that the timing mat is centered on the roadway, with cones. There is no indication for the runners to be right of the center line.
There is a large median strip on Santa Monica Blvd before the course turns south on Doheny...the runners would have been heading southwest on the on Santa Monica Blvd on the north side of the median and necessarily would have had to run wide on that turn. You can see this in the video on today's doubler article; the yellow vested volunteers appear to be standing at the end of the median and the runners are turning around them and the median.
World record holder my arse. wrote:
Of more concern is the fact he coaches kids and the school promotes him as a world record holder.
LOL
"The biggest mark of the weekend was left by Loyola XC/distance assistant coach Dr. Frank Meza, who won his age group race (70+) at the Sprouts Mesa-PHX Marathon. His time of 2:53:54 set a new U.S. and World Record, besting the old record of 2:54:27 set two months ago."
http://athletics.loyolahs.edu/2017-2018/cross-country/news/loyola-trackxc-well-represented-over-the-weekend-setting-schoolusworld-recordsSo I must be a troll or contrarian to point out that it is indecent to bombard this cheater's CEO/school administration with emails?
The hubris and systematic exploitation of races and records makes this guy worse even than Litton.
No records, age-group or otherwise, should ever be recognized for the LAM as long as they let FM's results to stand. What a crock on the director's part.
At least Ed W doesn't have to witness this abomination of age-group running.
psycho_spotter wrote:
So I must be a troll or contrarian to point out that it is indecent to bombard this cheater's CEO/school administration with emails?
Mate, don't worry about it, people will do what people will do.
If you really want to make a difference tell us how he did it, or at least speculate with some conspiracy theories.
If he's coaching kids I think its fair to point out Franks transgressions. This bozo should be nowhere near the sport.
The pressure, attention, emailing, even trolling should continue until Meza fesses up to what he did and apologizes for it. It’s uo to the administration of Loyola High School what they want to do with him. I wouldn’t want my kid to see him as a mentor. But redemption, a second chance, forgiveness are only possible if Meza admits to what he has done. Something tells me we are unlikely to see that happen.
Wow....just wow.
