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

I received the following from a competitor, more proof that Rossi cheated:

I was actually reading your post earlier in the week Tony. I don't have any full resolution photos sadly. Everyone I knew was running. I will say, the race was packed in the beginning. Even those of us running below 20-minute races couldn't just effortlessly pass people. You had to weave because they funneled the race into about half a lane of traffic. It would be next to impossible to make it from very back to the very front of the race unless he ran below 6 min miles for 2 and 3.

The course was an "easy" course to cheat because of the layout but it wasn't an easy day. There was a good amount of wind. It's not a race anyone could just run and PR.

I can tell you most things about the course, sorry I don't have any photos.

triathleteguru wrote:

Well, this was in the first set of full resolution photos I got, I have more on the way. What makes this almost certainly him is the time on the timing clock, 21:16, nine seconds after Rossi would have "run" but more likely walked next to the finish line.

Here is a bigger photo:

http://imgur.com/zIGkG1I

The girl finishing in the photo is Maureen, three finishers behind where he"finished".

So is there a photo of HIM finishing in front of Maureen or a photo of that person three spots ahead? Perhaps he gave his bib to someone else and watched them finish from the sidelines before tweeting "results soon" because he knew there was going to be some gun/chip differential?

In triguru's photo of Maureen finishing (gun time of 21:19) and Russell (gun time of 21:15) , you can also see Novelrunner hunched over recovering from her effort. She finished in a gun time of 21:02. Yet, no picture of Mike Rossi.

I will say it again, he did not run this race.

printer wrote:

In triguru's photo of Maureen finishing (gun time of 21:19) and Russell (gun time of 21:15) , you can also see Novelrunner hunched over recovering from her effort. She finished in a gun time of 21:02. Yet, no picture of Mike Rossi.

I will say it again, he did not run this race.

Good point, if Mike ran a PR I would expect him still in the finish area. But the FOV doesn't show the whole finish though unfortunately. But I agree with you, he should be in the finish still.

Two PRs now for Mike with no photos.

To recap:

1.) There are no start, race or finish line photos of Mike where he should be during this race based on his chip/clock time. He didn't post any on his Twitter page before he shut it down.

2.) Posters theorize how he cheated (started in back, waited near the finish line and casually walked near it to record a chip time). There are pictures of a guy dressed Rossi- style (black hat, sunglasses, and jacket) both in the back of the crowd before the start and near the finish line around the time he supposedly finished.

Not good.

By the way, didn't Rossi dress in similar fashion when he went incognito at that playground dedication?

No shortcuts wrote:

Two PRs now for Mike with no photos.

To recap:

1.) There are no start, race or finish line photos of Mike where he should be during this race based on his chip/clock time. He didn't post any on his Twitter page before he shut it down.

2.) Posters theorize how he cheated (started in back, waited near the finish line and casually walked near it to record a chip time). There are pictures of a guy dressed Rossi- style (black hat, sunglasses, and jacket) both in the back of the crowd before the start and near the finish line around the time he supposedly finished.

Not good.

By the way, didn't Rossi dress in similar fashion when he went incognito at that playground dedication?

The sprained ankle is still a mystery. Seems too odd to just accidentally happen after a race.

I've sprained mine on a trail run and playing basketball. Odd to "step in a hole", not even during the race, as he tweeted.

However, I do think tripping the chip sensor by walking past makes more sense than cutting the course.

No shortcuts wrote:

By the way, didn't Rossi dress in similar fashion when he went incognito at that playground dedication?

Ken should be able to give more details on that. He came up with a picture at some point.

CSU-1959 wrote:

So is there a photo of HIM finishing in front of Maureen or a photo of that person three spots ahead? Perhaps he gave his bib to someone else and watched them finish from the sidelines before tweeting "results soon" because he knew there was going to be some gun/chip differential?

I am more inclined to believe this.

OAN, there is that one guy who appears to be a walker two places ahead of Maureen, making sense out of the gun/chip delta; the "walker" probably cut the course.

So the leading theories are:

1. He started at the back with the walkers in order to stay under the radar and not seem suspicious. He took a photo of the crowd, a red herring, and does not take a selfie this time so no one could identify him should incriminating photos surface. The gun goes off and he triggers the start mat an eternity later. He then walks over to the finish area and waits for the right time to trigger the finish line mat. In Rossi fashion, he screws up the math and triggers the mat too late for a sub 20 result.

Potential flaw here is that we haven't seen any pictures of him finishing.

2. Start goes same way as above, except he hands his bib to another runner after the start to carry it to the finish, thus they both post different chip times. This would be corroborated if we review sequential finish line photos and he does not appear.

3. He start all he way in the back and actually runs through the start and part of the course, cutting a majority of it then resurfacing near the finish to run through the finish line. Screws up the math.

Right now I'm at 70% for 1, 20% for 2, 10% for 3, and 0% for him actually running the whole thing.

There should be no walkers finishing that fast obviously. I think anyone who cuts should be smart enough to at least run through the finish looking fast and/or sporting some sweat. Mike, the walls are closing in on you. This time the race is still fresh and evidence will surface.

Miguel Perdente wrote:

CSU-1959 wrote:

So is there a photo of HIM finishing in front of Maureen or a photo of that person three spots ahead? Perhaps he gave his bib to someone else and watched them finish from the sidelines before tweeting "results soon" because he knew there was going to be some gun/chip differential?

I am more inclined to believe this.

OAN, there is that one guy who appears to be a walker two places ahead of Maureen, making sense out of the gun/chip delta; the "walker" probably cut the course.

#2, the handoff theory, doesn't make any sense to me. If he just had a faster runner as a "ringer" run for him, why would he start all the way in the back?

I'd bet 60% for 3, 39% for 1, 0% for 2, and 1% for actually running the whole thing.

Except I think there's a chance he didn't screw up the math but instead was setting up an improvement trail for a sub 20. Based on his teases earlier in the week, I suspect he was planning on the sub 20, but there's a possibility he intentionally just got close.

And maybe the injury was even part of it. "I totally had it in the bag, I ran just over 20 even having to weave through traffic because of a shoe issue that delayed my start. But then I injured my ankle. I would definitely have gone sub 20 that race or by the end of the year. But now I'll just focus on getting my ankle better (and my many other injuries and heroically overcoming the loss of loved ones and working on culinary arts education)."

That way he can claim sub 20 was possible for him without having to really prove it for the $10k. His ego is way more important to him than the $10k.

Kinda a wild theory, but it fits his narcissism. The only reason he ever took a running step a couple years ago was so he could run Boston and get in on the sweet post-bombing Boston Proud publicity.

I seriously doubt any accomplice theory. I don't see him admitting or confiding his cheating with others.

I also doubt any runner capable of a 20 minute 5K would be willing to help Rossi cheat. And anyone that Mike would have to pay to cheat for him couldn't really be trusted.

Mike did this solo, that's the best guess.

The Turkey Trot results were not planned or a positive for him. He wouldn't have shut down his Twitter account if he was publicizing anything he felt was improving his image. He screwed up at the Turkey Trot and immediately locked everything down.

I don't really care how he cheated. I know he cheated by the way he shut down his twitter. He messed up and he knows it

Based on his tweets I 100% think he meant to break 20 this time. He went from 3:45 to 3:11, in his mind the 5k jump probably seemed smaller. He is impatient and impulsive and without shame.

Speaking of the cheater, wonder how much longer he can stand to keep his account private? He must be about to blow by now.

Uzhorod wrote:

No shortcuts wrote:

By the way, didn't Rossi dress in similar fashion when he went incognito at that playground dedication?

Ken should be able to give more details on that. He came up with a picture at some point.

Link to those playground pics. Look at the last photo in the top row.

CSU-1959 wrote:

So is there a photo of HIM finishing in front of Maureen or a photo of that person three spots ahead? Perhaps he gave his bib to someone else and watched them finish from the sidelines before tweeting "results soon" because he knew there was going to be some gun/chip differential?

This is the only one we currently have around the time Rossi finished. Believe it or not, the photo is actually of two runners posing about 100 yards away from the finish. I just happened to notice the time on the clock and was able to zoom in on the full resolution original to get this.

I do find it interesting that there is a guy wearing a fanny pack seen in this photo (far right, aqua blue) that finished at about the time Rossi supposedly finished... could it be Rossi's fanny pack with his phone and timing bib?

We are in contact with the runner who finished 2 seconds ahead of Rossi as well several of the runners behind. All it is going to take to prove or disprove all this is s clear photo of one of them finishing... It is coming!