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

Triathleteguru wrote:

I got a stash of 60 full resolution photos from somebody off Facebook. I believe I have spotted him at the finish line, but behind spectators. Around the time he supposedly finished... With his trademark Nike hat and glasses...

Is this the real Triathleteguru or a handle thief? I'm always suspicious when someone with a lower case l in their name claims to have evidence and doesn't immediately post it.

Wait a minute, there is a lower case l in my name too...

Hmmm....

runningantelope wrote:

Triathleteguru wrote:

I got a stash of 60 full resolution photos from somebody off Facebook. I believe I have spotted him at the finish line, but behind spectators. Around the time he supposedly finished... With his trademark Nike hat and glasses...

Is this the real Triathleteguru or a handle thief? I'm always suspicious when someone with a lower case l in their name claims to have evidence and doesn't immediately post it.

Wait a minute, there is a lower case l in my name too...

Hmmm....

Maybe it's real ... Mike has shut down his Twitter again.

It's been shut down for a while. Came up shortly after the trot but gone dark shortly thereafter.Mike Whines!

Whyamihere wrote:

runningantelope wrote:

Is this the real Triathleteguru or a handle thief? I'm always suspicious when someone with a lower case l in their name claims to have evidence and doesn't immediately post it.

Wait a minute, there is a lower case l in my name too...

Hmmm....

Maybe it's real ... Mike has shut down his Twitter again.

Triathleteguru wrote:

I got a stash of 60 full resolution photos from somebody off Facebook. I believe I have spotted him at the finish line, but behind spectators. Around the time he supposedly finished... With his trademark Nike hat and glasses...

Expect a call from the police anytime now...

Laughable wrote:

Cheat Lie Repeat wrote:

Moreover, while its not uncommon to pass other racers, we are talking about over 660 other runners, which takes effort at times getting around people and avoiding obstacles.

Here's some pics from the race showing exactly what he would have had to run through:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208272234743209

(I looked up a few of the finish times of runners in the pic and they varied from 26:25 to 32:15, so this must be early in the race.)

Now imagine trying to zigzag through THAT for a PR! You might sprain your ankle even trying. (Too soon?)

That photo was taken at approximately 350 yards/325 meters from the start.

(Start was intersection Crystal Lake Rd/E Crystal Lake Ave/Haddon Ave - Photo taken intersection Reeve Ave/Chesnut Ave/Haddon Ave)

Take another good mile to work your way through that lot from the back.

He cheated.

Triathleteguru wrote:

I got a stash of 60 full resolution photos from somebody off Facebook. I believe I have spotted him at the finish line, but behind spectators. Around the time he supposedly finished... With his trademark Nike hat and glasses...

Whoops there is a capital T there... nice try.

Correction: at least a mile including the 325 yards.

Loofa Dog wrote:

Triathleteguru wrote:

I got a stash of 60 full resolution photos from somebody off Facebook. I believe I have spotted him at the finish line, but behind spectators. Around the time he supposedly finished... With his trademark Nike hat and glasses...

Whoops there is a capital T there... nice try.

This has been explained before, but on this forum usernames are case-insensitive, so Triathleteguru and triathleteguru are the same handle. Also, unlike most forums, you type your name in every time you post, and the name beside each post is displayed exactly the way you typed it in, as opposed to the way you typed it when you signed up.

In other words Triathleteguru is the same account as triathleteguru.

What's happening with the "handle stealing" trolls is they are substituting a *different* letter for a similar looking letter (usually upper case i for lowercase L). If someone posts with exactly the same letters, but with different cases, then it's the same person

In other words, the forum would let you post as LOOFA DOG (using the same password you use for Loofa Dog).

For example, I could post as "tech guy", "TECH GUY" or "TeCh GuY", all using the same password, because the forum considers those names as all belonging to a single account, since they only differ by case.

Yes that is the case... Upper case, that is.

If you're reading from a computer and you want to double-check whether someone is posting as a handle thief (e.g. substituting uppercase i for lowercase L), you could just copy and paste their name (beside the post) into an application like Word, Notepad (Windows) or Textedit (Mac), and change the font to Times New Roman or something, where those two letters look completely different.

tech guy wrote:

Loofa Dog wrote:

Whoops there is a capital T there... nice try.

This has been explained before, but on this forum usernames are case-insensitive, so Triathleteguru and triathleteguru are the same handle. Also, unlike most forums, you type your name in every time you post, and the name beside each post is displayed exactly the way you typed it in, as opposed to the way you typed it when you signed up.

In other words Triathleteguru is the same account as triathleteguru.

What's happening with the "handle stealing" trolls is they are substituting a *different* letter for a similar looking letter (usually upper case i for lowercase L). If someone posts with exactly the same letters, but with different cases, then it's the same person

In other words, the forum would let you post as LOOFA DOG (using the same password you use for Loofa Dog).

My bad then.... Rossi did go after the poster in question, just assumed it was Rossi/someone trolling.

Yeah, I think the handle thiefs are pretty much trying to confuse and annoy everyone. It works well enough that people doubt it when the "real owner" of a handle is posting.

it's the real Triathleteguru (TAG), not a handle thief.

To tell the difference between capitol "i" and lower case "L", I use the search function in Chrome (and I bet it works for other browsers too). When I search for the letter "i" all the "i's" on the page are highlighted, and same for "L."

The problem on Letsrun is the default font has the same appearance for I and l but they're still saved as different letters.

bored troLLer wrote:

it's the real Triathleteguru (TAG), not a handle thief.

Good to know at least someone on Letsrun.com recognizes who the real triathlete guru is! Though I do realize triathletes aren't considered very highly here, I think triathletes might rank just a level or two above Rossi, so being recognized at a triathlete guru probably doesn't mean much here...

Anyways, here is a picture just of the face that I think might be Rossi:

This is zoomed in at 200%, so it obviously won't be enough to DQ him with, but I know have a location/spot of where to look for him in other photos. What do you all think? I'm holding off on posting the original photo for now, I wouldn't mind the $1k reward... According to our good friend Rossi, the house I live in is white trailer trash quality, I need the funds to keep improving my shack!

Tech guy wrote:

Yeah, I think the handle thiefs are pretty much trying to confuse and annoy everyone. It works well enough that people doubt it when the "real owner" of a handle is posting.

Who would do such a thing?

That individual should really take a cue from Mr. Rossi, an honest and dominant man.

I don't think that's him.

This is from the finish line around the time Rossi would have finished? What would be the explanation? Rossi just walked near the mat to trigger his chip? Or had someone else (the accomplice!) run with his chip?

I suppose that Rossi could have been at the race with chip hidden, under the tongue in his shoe or something, and ambled across the starting line at the back of the pack dressed as a spectator. Then acted like he was spectating at the finish area and got close enough to the mat when he thought it would be just under 20 minutes.

But unless you have more pics, don't go spending the $1000 just yet.

triathleteguru I might have some info that will help. Do you have an email that I can send you the info to?

I've been told that the timing system used was the chronotrack. It was in the bib number so it reads high and it would easily read a number that walked by outside of the finish line, within a range of two or three feet...