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

Careful with that last video, the next one that autostarts is potentially offensive.

Hello everyone. The post above cracked me up.

Anyway, I was on vacation last week and not following this. We apparently got a few emails that Weldon read and he told me Rossi supposedly ran a 20:25. Having read the emails and the great blog post on triathlete guru, it seems to me very likely that Rossi cheated in the 5k. Given his past shenanigans, he doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.

Two things make me think he cheated.

1) The chip/gun time differential is very suspicious

The logic of the following is pretty amazing.

2) His improvement in a matter of weeks again defies logic as explained below:

Anyway, many people seem worried that he'll cheat and we'll get taken to the cleaners.

Let me address those concerns now. This week, I will contact Rossi and his lawyer and tell them that given the concerns raised about the validity of his past performances at Lehigh valley and now this race, we won't pay out unless he runs the time at a race where we are able to verify he ran the full distance. We want at least 72 hours advance notice so we can take a look at the course and figure out if it's possible to cut and if it is, so that we can hire a runner to shadow Rossi during his race to confirm he ran every step.

(Imagine how many runners would love to be our shadower. I'll off them $100 to run next to Rossi for 20 minutes).

There isn't a reason why we can't make that clear to them.

Paying out isn't what I'm worried about - I'm mainly worried Rossi will post a sub-20 somewhere and then be able to convince a few quacks who don't understand running that it was possible he ran 3:11 last year.

Not possible.

I may offer him a $1000 to simply run a 5000 on a track. He gets $1000 if he runs a 5000 on the track before the end of the year. I get to film it. He gets his $1000 (He has to break 22:00 as I don't want him walking it).

What are your thoughts?

Certified distance 5K ? LieRunnr seems to think that the 5K could be any distance.

So much greatness here!!! Thank you for doing more than a weak race director would.

I still say we stick him on a treadmill, set the speed @ 6:20 per mile pace, and see how long he can hold on until he flies off the back.

A perfect live stream, pay-per-view event. I've got my credit card ready.

I think it's a great idea. With the look of his rolled ankle and the pictures of him now in a boot I don't think the end of the year would be possible , Rossi style.

rojo wrote:

I may offer him a $1000 to simply run a 5000 on a track. He gets $1000 if he runs a 5000 on the track before the end of the year. I get to film it. He gets his $1000 (He has to break 22:00 as I don't want him walking it).

What are your thoughts?

I love this idea. Make it even better:

1) Have a pacer go out at 19:59 pace just to make it entirely clear, from a visual perspective, how far off Rossi's fitness is. And how he never was close to being in the type of fitness he was purported to be in at Via.

2) Consider having Ken Stillman drive a golf cart at 19:59 pace ahead of Rossi. I want to see how fast Rossi can run when fueled by pure hate (I'm thinking 21:30).

I don't think Mike Rossi should personally gain from being a blowhard cheater, so tell him you'll donate the $1000 to a charity in his name.

Whatever firefight/police thing he was raising money for that we all donated $3.11 to should do.

titaniumbolt wrote:

rojo wrote:

I may offer him a $1000 to simply run a 5000 on a track. He gets $1000 if he runs a 5000 on the track before the end of the year. I get to film it. He gets his $1000 (He has to break 22:00 as I don't want him walking it).

What are your thoughts?

I love this idea. Make it even better:

1) Have a pacer go out at 19:59 pace just to make it entirely clear, from a visual perspective, how far off Rossi's fitness is. And how he never was close to being in the type of fitness he was purported to be in at Via.

2) Consider having Ken Stillman drive a golf cart at 19:59 pace ahead of Rossi. I want to see how fast Rossi can run when fueled by pure hate (I'm thinking 21:30).

That would be epic!

Rossi will never agree to it because $1000 isn't worth the amount of ridicule that he'll receive for being filmed running like a constipated duck for 22 minutes but, even if he declines, the point will be made.

Fire Barb McKeever! wrote:

... running like a constipated duck ...

In the words of His Rossiness: This. Perhaps a charitable donation to the Martin Richard Foundation with the proceeds when he fails? 1/1/16 would be perfect.$50 would be a bargain. Who is the DJ? Don't say it....

No shortcuts wrote:

I still say we stick him on a treadmill, set the speed @ 6:20 per mile pace, and see how long he can hold on until he flies off the back.

A perfect live stream, pay-per-view event. I've got my credit card ready.

You mean his marathon pace? Yeah, I'd like to see his demeanor after a single 5k.

titaniumbolt wrote:

rojo wrote:

I may offer him a $1000 to simply run a 5000 on a track. He gets $1000 if he runs a 5000 on the track before the end of the year. I get to film it. He gets his $1000 (He has to break 22:00 as I don't want him walking it).

What are your thoughts?

I love this idea. Make it even better:

1) Have a pacer go out at 19:59 pace just to make it entirely clear, from a visual perspective, how far off Rossi's fitness is. And how he never was close to being in the type of fitness he was purported to be in at Via.

2) Consider having Ken Stillman drive a golf cart at 19:59 pace ahead of Rossi. I want to see how fast Rossi can run when fueled by pure hate (I'm thinking 21:30).

Something tells me The Chicken Dance will be blaring.

titaniumbolt wrote:

rojo wrote:

I may offer him a $1000 to simply run a 5000 on a track. He gets $1000 if he runs a 5000 on the track before the end of the year. I get to film it. He gets his $1000 (He has to break 22:00 as I don't want him walking it).

What are your thoughts?

I love this idea. Make it even better:

1) Have a pacer go out at 19:59 pace just to make it entirely clear, from a visual perspective, how far off Rossi's fitness is. And how he never was close to being in the type of fitness he was purported to be in at Via.

2) Consider having Ken Stillman drive a golf cart at 19:59 pace ahead of Rossi. I want to see how fast Rossi can run when fueled by pure hate (I'm thinking 21:30).

Yes, please do this! I think you should offer to donate the $1k to charity also, that may add some pressure for him to move forward. Don't give him the choice to keep the money because we all know he wouldn't think twice.

Whatever circumstantial evidence comes out, you'll never get him to admit he cheated. The only thing is hard proof as in a video of him stepping off/on to the course or crossing the startline at a pedestrian pace.

For him, it's all about plausibility to the non-runner, since almost every runner already knows he cheated. Is it possible that his shoe came off. Sure, it was double knotted, someone stepped on the back of his shoe and it popped off so he had to undue the double knot, put the shoe back on and tie it back up. About the 667 people he passed. Well the 2013 video shows that the start line is quite wide and the first km or so of the race is a straightaway, so maybe he didn't need to weave that much and could have passed that many people. Are these things likely? No. But are they a possible explanation? Maybe.

I'm hopefully that something will still come out since unlike Via, where the questions about cheating only came out many months after the race, this should be fresh in people's minds and pictures/videos on their phones are undeleted. If he had run the race, presumably, one of the 600 odd people that he passed would have remembered a guy running 6:25 pace streaming past them, but I'm presuming that no would would be willing to stepforward to say that, because no one saw him do it.

titaniumbolt wrote:

rojo wrote:

I may offer him a $1000 to simply run a 5000 on a track. He gets $1000 if he runs a 5000 on the track before the end of the year. I get to film it. He gets his $1000 (He has to break 22:00 as I don't want him walking it).

What are your thoughts?

I love this idea. Make it even better:

1) Have a pacer go out at 19:59 pace just to make it entirely clear, from a visual perspective, how far off Rossi's fitness is. And how he never was close to being in the type of fitness he was purported to be in at Via.

2) Consider having Ken Stillman drive a golf cart at 19:59 pace ahead of Rossi. I want to see how fast Rossi can run when fueled by pure hate (I'm thinking 21:30).

Three pacers. One at 19:59 pace and one at 3:12 pace and the last at 3:25 pace.

And video it.

Loofa Dog wrote:

titaniumbolt wrote:

I love this idea. Make it even better:

1) Have a pacer go out at 19:59 pace just to make it entirely clear, from a visual perspective, how far off Rossi's fitness is. And how he never was close to being in the type of fitness he was purported to be in at Via.

2) Consider having Ken Stillman drive a golf cart at 19:59 pace ahead of Rossi. I want to see how fast Rossi can run when fueled by pure hate (I'm thinking 21:30).

Three pacers. One at 19:59 pace and one at 3:12 pace and the last at 3:25 pace.

And video it.

And have the pacers dressed like this:

That should end this... if someone has to follow him, it's over. He was only ever going to run under 20 minutes by cheating.

To be honest, this is a kindness to him. It will end his pathetic charade (that he could ever run a 5k under 20 minutes) and, with the holidays coming, he can focus on more important things. He'll rely on the injury to give up the dream which he will say is tragic as he was just so close... darn shoe malfunction.

I doubt it will be the end of his cheating at races though. His ego will require that he keep cheating to get those goal times, not for the money, but to keep lying and deceiving those closest to him. It's not like he's going to stop wearing that Boston hat. Can you even imagine? What a truly horrendous life - when your main goal is to deceive the very people to whom you should never have to lie. Just ugly. And all just so he can say he ran Boston??? Reminds me of a quote in the trial at end of A Man for all Seasons, which I will alter slightly to fit:

"For Boston? Why, Mike, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world . . . But for Boston!"

rojo wrote:

Let me address those concerns now. This week, I will contact Rossi and his lawyer and tell them that given the concerns raised about the validity of his past performances at Lehigh valley and now this race, we won't pay out unless he runs the time at a race where we are able to verify he ran the full distance. We want at least 72 hours advance notice so we can take a look at the course and figure out if it's possible to cut and if it is, so that we can hire a runner to shadow Rossi during his race to confirm he ran every step.

(Imagine how many runners would love to be our shadower. I'll off them $100 to run next to Rossi for 20 minutes).

Awesome! Honest Mike will jump at this chance to redeem himself.

As for the shadower: pick me! Most other people here have shown clear signs of a prejudice.

Would you mind if we run on the track? Say in 19:45, to keep it fair?