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

SaraB wrote:

Wouldn't there be a photographer before the first relay point? Otherwise the first runner wouldn't get any photos

Valid point. This is why I suspect he got off the course immediately after the start and didn't bother to run back and forth between the first relay spot to a planted car. His car was simply left at the start then drove to the last relay spot and jumped right in so he only ran the last leg to the finish and back to retrieve his car.

GregTR wrote:

Valid point. This is why I suspect he got off the course immediately after the start and didn't bother to run back and forth between the first relay spot to a planted car. His car was simply left at the start then drove to the last relay spot and jumped right in so he only ran the last leg to the finish and back to retrieve his car.

I found quite a few photos from the start on Google images and I couldn't spot him on any of them but it would make sense that he would keep to one side if he was going to do that. All the photos focus on the middle mostly.

Let me find my 2013 medal wrote:

I wonder how much I could get from him for my 2013 shirt, jacket and medal. He'd probably wear all 3 while looking at himself in a mirror while getting it on with his wife.

Oh my. I was going to respond but even my inner 12 y.o. child thought it unwise.

Has anyone been able to find any social media/blog of him or his family/friend who went to VIA marathon with him?

Starts with sunglasses, headphones, cellphone and finishes without these things, but has them in subsequent races. I ask about friends/family because he theoretically could have, as my girlfriend (who is questioning my own sanity following this) brought up, handed them off.

Of course he obviously left these things in his car as I can't see them all fitting in the small pouch he has on his waist. Does anyone have a similar pouch that they could try to put these three things in to test if it would fit? We know he didn't toss them because 1. He had his cellphone and he wouldn't toss that I don't think 2. He is seen racing in the same earbuds/sunglasses in future races.

iiagdtr wrote:

Let me find my 2013 medal wrote:

I wonder how much I could get from him for my 2013 shirt, jacket and medal. He'd probably wear all 3 while looking at himself in a mirror while getting it on with his wife.

Oh my. I was going to respond but even my inner 12 y.o. child thought it unwise.

Ha! I've been doing that with my relay marathon medal for years now!

There's been some discussion on this thread as to where the photographers were located, based on the photos. Too many pages to wade through though. Since there's an official investigation going on, I'm sure they'll be in contact with the race photo company so they'll know exactly where the photographers were located.

Since he supposedly had his cell phone with him during the race, maybe the cell companies would have data as to what cell towers his phone was bouncing off of, and when. Since it was a point to point race, I'm sure if he kept his phone on, there'd be a sequence showing how fast he was traveling towards the finish. Call the NSA. These allegations are serious enough.

Mr Boston, that's my name. That name again is Mr. Boston.

Bored at work wrote:

Has anyone been able to find any social media/blog of him or his family/friend who went to VIA marathon with him?

Starts with sunglasses, headphones, cellphone and finishes without these things, but has them in subsequent races. I ask about friends/family because he theoretically could have, as my girlfriend (who is questioning my own sanity following this) brought up, handed them off.

Of course he obviously left these things in his car as I can't see them all fitting in the small pouch he has on his waist. Does anyone have a similar pouch that they could try to put these three things in to test if it would fit? We know he didn't toss them because 1. He had his cellphone and he wouldn't toss that I don't think 2. He is seen racing in the same earbuds/sunglasses in future races.

Yes, you can fit smaller phones and earbuds into some of those stretchy packs. Sunglasses, not so much, but you could tuck then underneath the band.

RunsInPink wrote:

And furthermore, if you make a huge, public deal about showing your kids what it means to work hard and achieve a goal, and then you get caught cheating, you are a total jerk.

Actually, he was trying to somehow get around rudimentary school attendance rules with that nonsense letter he posted. If your kid is in any kind of legitimate school, you will know those rules.

Which, as soon as I found the thread, made perfect sense.

The only awareness from the kids is very likely, "Dad runs a few hours a week."

I was looking at the official race photos. There is a photo of runner #1600 (3:09:27) (photo # 72-107) and the next photo is of #2028 (3:12:29). Rossi would have been between these two, no? There is a 3 minute gap between these photos. Food for thought.

Speaking of Chicago, didn't Rossi register for it as a guaranteed time qualifier (male under 3:15)? So I think Chicago needs to cancel his entry if he is disqualified from Lehigh.

I still contend someone was with him that day, and may have even crossed the starting line to activate the chip so no one would see him walking off the course. We may be looking for the wrong person in the pictures of the start. I guess he doesn't use GU. Try fitting a couple of those in your fannypack along with a cell phone, car keys, headphones and sunglasses.

Bored at work wrote:

Has anyone been able to find any social media/blog of him or his family/friend who went to VIA marathon with him?

Starts with sunglasses, headphones, cellphone and finishes without these things, but has them in subsequent races. I ask about friends/family because he theoretically could have, as my girlfriend (who is questioning my own sanity following this) brought up, handed them off.

Of course he obviously left these things in his car as I can't see them all fitting in the small pouch he has on his waist. Does anyone have a similar pouch that they could try to put these three things in to test if it would fit? We know he didn't toss them because 1. He had his cellphone and he wouldn't toss that I don't think 2. He is seen racing in the same earbuds/sunglasses in future races.

You must be new to this thread. Spreadsheets have been posted. Every single runner - and apparently walker - heck even the dog that got body slammed has a picture (or 12) elsewhere on the course. Except one. Or rather #2161.

not a Rossi fan...but wrote:

I was looking at the official race photos. There is a photo of runner #1600 (3:09:27) (photo # 72-107) and the next photo is of #2028 (3:12:29). Rossi would have been between these two, no? There is a 3 minute gap between these photos. Food for thought.

There isn't a 3 minute gap between those photos. There is a two second gap between them. All of the photos are timestamped.

IFartInYourGeneralDirection wrote:

The one thing that still bothers me, and I brought it up several pages ago, is that he started and finished the race mere seconds behind Douglas Rendall, lime green tank top guy. If Rossi left the course as is suspected, did he re-enter the course and by chance just happened to be behind Randell again, or do you think he was waiting for lime green tank top guy to come along so he would know when to jump back on the course?

Think of it this way. At 3:11 he's inevitably going to finish a few seconds behind someone. And at the start he's going to cross the mat a few seconds behind literally many hundreds of people. So, what are the odds that he starts and finishes a few seconds behind the same person? Very good, actually.

IFartInYourGeneralDirection wrote:

relay for life wrote:

It hasn't been specifically established but the most likely scenario is that he went off at the first relay exchange and came back on at the last one.

The one thing that still bothers me, and I brought it up several pages ago, is that he started and finished the race mere seconds behind Douglas Rendall, lime green tank top guy. If Rossi left the course as is suspected, did he re-enter the course and by chance just happened to be behind Randell again, or do you think he was waiting for lime green tank top guy to come along so he would know when to jump back on the course?

The timing with Lime Green is too close to be coincidental. I originally wondered if Lime Green had carried Rossi's chip.

The LRC statistics are interesting and show that his time while possible is highly improbable. Statistics are often interpreted to an expected outcome. Most people don't trust stats.

How, in this age of videos and cameras, is there no photographic evidence of cheating? That would be the smoking gun.

Has anyone else noticed he looks like Al Gore? Bears some investigating..

Nobody has said that every single photo stop has every single runner. However there are other photo points that do get every runner and they are in a sequence that he couldn't have been on the course at that time.

CyberCop715 wrote:

Since he supposedly had his cell phone with him during the race, maybe the cell companies would have data as to what cell towers his phone was bouncing off of, and when. Since it was a point to point race, I'm sure if he kept his phone on, there'd be a sequence showing how fast he was traveling towards the finish. Call the NSA. These allegations are serious enough.

This is actually a great angle. Not sure we need NSA :) It is another thing ol Mikey boy could provide to prove his innocence.