Did Mike Rossi (viral marathon dad) cheat his way into Boston?

I don't think that Barb likes me very much. :(

You can fix that. Cheat at one of her managed races and you will be endeared to her sense of what is fair and right.

I kinda hate that letsrun offered him $$$ to run a certain time. With some training he can definitely do it and it looks like he will. It really will just make rojo look like an idiot. I hate that because rojo deserves credit for revealing this cheat.

I don't know - it just feels like he could beat those time, win the money, but he still cheated

I love oreos

Mike Ross wrote:

I kinda hate that letsrun offered him $$$ to run a certain time. With some training he can definitely do it and it looks like he will. It really will just make rojo look like an idiot. I hate that because rojo deserves credit for revealing this cheat.

I don't know - it just feels like he could beat those time, win the money, but he still cheated

I love oreos

he is 2 minutes away from the goal time. no worries. nothing to see here.

somebloke wrote:

he is 2 minutes away from the goal time. no worries. nothing to see here.

We have been warned. Latest on twitter

Mike Rossi ‏@mikerossi22 14h14 hours ago Pennsylvania, USA

It's coming...and right soon.

runningonempty wrote:

somebloke wrote:

he is 2 minutes away from the goal time. no worries. nothing to see here.

We have been warned. Latest on twitter

Mike Rossi ‏@mikerossi22 14h14 hours ago Pennsylvania, USA

It's coming...and right soon.

Here is to IT coming soon for Mr. Rossi....

somebloke wrote:

Mike Ross wrote:

I kinda hate that letsrun offered him $$$ to run a certain time. With some training he can definitely do it and it looks like he will. It really will just make rojo look like an idiot. I hate that because rojo deserves credit for revealing this cheat.

I don't know - it just feels like he could beat those time, win the money, but he still cheated

I love oreos

he is 2 minutes away from the goal time. no worries. nothing to see here.

Yep. Two mins in the 5K is a lifetime.

Mike Ross wrote:

I kinda hate that letsrun offered him $$$ to run a certain time. With some training he can definitely do it and it looks like he will. It really will just make rojo look like an idiot. I hate that because rojo deserves credit for revealing this cheat.

I don't know - it just feels like he could beat those time, win the money, but he still cheated

I love oreos

I agree with you to an extent. I think it's possible he could go sub 20. His form looked decent in those photos a few pages back. If he drops 8 or 10 pounds, I could see it happening. But if does, so what? It doesn't validate his performance at Lehigh Valley. But in his mind and the minds of those who don't know better, it will. Mike, you cheated. You never even sniffed a 3:11 at Via or anywhere else. And that will never change, whether you run sub 20, or sub 3:00, or break the WR.

runningonempty wrote:

somebloke wrote:

he is 2 minutes away from the goal time. no worries. nothing to see here.

We have been warned. Latest on twitter

Mike Rossi ‏@mikerossi22 14h14 hours ago Pennsylvania, USA

It's coming...and right soon.

A real heartfelt apology for cheating, sexually harassing a meterologist who has more twitter followers then him and causing a school principal a whole lot of trouble/threats over a silly marathon that caters to people and their egos?

Spare me if I don't poop my unicorn undies on that one.

And no Mike isn't going to break 20 in the 5K or 3:25 in the marathon "really soon."

try-ath-uh-leet wrote:

Mike Ross wrote:

I kinda hate that letsrun offered him $$$ to run a certain time. With some training he can definitely do it and it looks like he will. It really will just make rojo look like an idiot. I hate that because rojo deserves credit for revealing this cheat.

I agree with you to an extent. I think it's possible he could go sub 20. His form looked decent in those photos a few pages back. If he drops 8 or 10 pounds, I could see it happening. But if does, so what? It doesn't validate his performance at Lehigh Valley. But in his mind and the minds of those who don't know better, it will. Mike, you cheated. You never even sniffed a 3:11 at Via or anywhere else. And that will never change, whether you run sub 20, or sub 3:00, or break the WR.

What makes you guys think "he can definitely do it"? I'm not being argumentative, I'm just wondering because if we were talking about any normal runner, and especially one his age (and running form), it seems obvious that he really can't actually do it. Not without cheating in one form or another.

He's been training hard and (apparently) looks to be in the best shape of his life - and the result? He's taken 6 seconds off his 5k PB down to 21:46. Is there something about the other 106 (+1) seconds that you think will be easier for him to drop than those first 6 (in the next 5 weeks, when he had months to drop the first 6)? For everyone else* it gets harder and harder to drop time, not easier.

*By "everyone else" I mean people who don't cheat.

I don't think the 5k challenge was a good idea, because it might actually be easier to cheat in a carefully chosen 5k than it would be at the longer distances. 5ks don't have intermediate timing mats. If he picks a twisty, windy course, scouts it ahead of time, and develops a strategy, he might be able to cut entire sections off with no one noticing. And even if people do notice, how many of them are going to report him? They don't know the backstory.

theREALsmokingGunner wrote:

His form looked good for someone running backwards downhill.

Seriously, why does he swing each foot around the next in an egg beater fashion and landing on feet splayed 30 degrees out? It is cringeworthy.

Seriously, with that gait he will f*ck up all his joints when going 6,5mins/mile. Even on a five k.

I'm surprised that the dude is seemingly taking a shot at this. I had expected him to crawl back into his cave. But I guess that doesn't go with his personality.

*****NEWSFLASH*****

The Washington Post has come out and called Mike Rossi a marathon cheater. Yup, as much as he wants to deny it, he's labeled for life.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/marine-corps-marathon-bans-runner-who-appears-to-have-cut-corners/2015/11/20/c05ef754-8f41-11e5-934c-a369c80822c2_story.html

Mike Ross wrote:

I kinda hate that letsrun offered him $$$ to run a certain time.

This is where I'm at. Given the shape he seems to be in and based on his times, I think he could definitely hit the 3:25 mark. Sure, the massive increase in training volume and decrease in weight he would need to achieve to pull it off would be that much more evidence that his 3:11 and Via is complete bullshit, but the net result is that this craptastic douchebag still earns $10k for proving that he cheated to get into Boston.

dgunthert wrote:

Mike Ross wrote:

I kinda hate that letsrun offered him $$$ to run a certain time.

This is where I'm at. Given the shape he seems to be in and based on his times, I think he could definitely hit the 3:25 mark. Sure, the massive increase in training volume and decrease in weight he would need to achieve to pull it off would be that much more evidence that his 3:11 and Via is complete bullshit, but the net result is that this craptastic douchebag still earns $10k for proving that he cheated to get into Boston.

remember that 5k times only translate to marathon fitness if you put the miles for years and years. one training cycle CANNOT cure aerobic deficiency.

printer wrote:

*****NEWSFLASH*****

The Washington Post has come out and called Mike Rossi a marathon cheater. Yup, as much as he wants to deny it, he's labeled for life.

I guess we're waiting for his AOL lawyer to sue now.

theREALsmokingGunner wrote:

"Perhaps most famously, a runner named Rosie Ruiz was the top woman finisher in the 1980 Boston Marathon but later was stripped of her title when race officials ruled that she didn’t complete the entire course. More recently, marathoners Mike Rossi and Kip Litton have been exposed through diligent Internet sleuthing and scorned by message board users."

The best thing that ever happened to him that huge ego. Forever labeled a marathon cheater because it won't allow him to come clean.

Looking forward to Mike suing them and posting their obits too. You are getting exactly what you deserve. At least Price fessed up, Rossi lacks all courage to do the right thing as does Barb McKeever and Via Marathon.

printer wrote:

*****NEWSFLASH*****

The Washington Post has come out and called Mike Rossi a marathon cheater. Yup, as much as he wants to deny it, he's labeled for life.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/marine-corps-marathon-bans-runner-who-appears-to-have-cut-corners/2015/11/20/c05ef754-8f41-11e5-934c-a369c80822c2_story.html

Yep, a bet a few more eyes will be opened given the publicity. Mike Wins!

RunDriveRun wrote:

theREALsmokingGunner wrote:

"Perhaps most famously, a runner named Rosie Ruiz was the top woman finisher in the 1980 Boston Marathon but later was stripped of her title when race officials ruled that she didn’t complete the entire course. More recently, marathoners Mike Rossi and Kip Litton have been exposed through diligent Internet sleuthing and scorned by message board users."

The best thing that ever happened to him that huge ego. Forever labeled a marathon cheater because it won't allow him to come clean.