There is nothing on the front page or message board regarding yesterday's Philadelphia Distance Run. This half marathon was once the WR course (Mark Curp, 1:00:55, 1985 then lowered by Dionicio Cerón, 1:00:46, 1990) so it has been fast in the past.
The Rock 'n Roll folks got their hands on it in 2009 but this year the race returned to local management.
Non-binary athletes had the same prize purse as male and female athletes- $3,000 to win.
Will this race rise back to its former top position?
According to their website:
Non-Binary:
1st Place: $3,000
2nd Place: $1,000
3rd Place: $500
4th Place: $250
5th Place: $150
MASTER: 1st Place $500
When I looked at the results, only 13 total runners were listed in the "non-binary" category.
Assuming the actual physical gender from the names, it looks like:
1) woman - 1:21:52 for $3000
2) man - 1:24:23 for $1000
3) man - 1:28:52 for $500
4) man - 1:32:28 for $250
5) unsure - 1:46:16 for $150
Master - female - 2:01:32 for $500
Why run 1:04 when you can run 1:46 for the same money?
Aaron Nola gives……. Do you?
Wait for all the African men to take over this category to make some easy cash.
Actual the first finisher looks like he competed as Jack in the past. I do not have proof but Athlinks has a Jack in the same town in the same age group. The suspicious thing to notice is that Jack's previous times over 10 miles and other halves suggest he couldn't run a 1:21.
Haven't been able to find splits for any runners.
EZ money wrote:
When I looked at the results, only 13 total runners were listed in the "non-binary" category.
There were also six people listed under the non-binary category for the 5k. I understand it's the first time such a race category was implemented at this race, but given how they announced the category a few months ago, I was surprised how few entries they had. I wonder if they long they will continue to host that category (I wouldn't be surprised if they change up the finishing awards based on the number of entries)
I was there.
It was a HE. HE was wearing earrings, had a ponytail, and appeared to be on hormones to grow a couple of small ones up top.
If HE thinks HE is a female, and wants to be treated as one, then HE should have entered the female division and finish 10 minutes out of the money.
The whole thing was ridiculous. total sham. HE runs just under 1:22 when girls are running 73 minutes and out of the prize money already.
Disclaimer: I don't believe in discrimination nor cancel culture, and have nothing against the LGBTQ community. But equal prize money for this division is enough to boycott this race in the future.
"Non-binary" winner
Interesting that there are no results for "Jaclyn Vasko" that fit the appropriate age but there are plenty (including from last month) for "Jack Vasko".
https://www.athlinks.com/search/unclaimed?category=unclaimed&term=jack%20vasko
The city of non-pronoun love wrote:
I was there.
It was a HE. HE was wearing earrings, had a ponytail, and appeared to be on hormones to grow a couple of small ones up top.
If HE thinks HE is a female, and wants to be treated as one, then HE should have entered the female division and finish 10 minutes out of the money.
The whole thing was ridiculous. total sham. HE runs just under 1:22 when girls are running 73 minutes and out of the prize money already.
Disclaimer: I don't believe in discrimination nor cancel culture, and have nothing against the LGBTQ community. But equal prize money for this division is enough to boycott this race in the future.
Did the race define non-binary? For example, Nikki Hiltz is non-binary but has retained the biological/physiological characteristics of a what was once defined as a female.
more information wrote:
The suspicious thing to notice is that Jack's previous times over 10 miles and other halves suggest he couldn't run a 1:21..
2012
Philadelphia Distance Run – 2:08:13
2013
Rock ‘n’ Roll HM (Washington DC) – 1:47:47
Broad Street 10-mile – 1:12:19
Parkway Run 5K – 20:42
Philadelphia Marathon – 3:30:15
2014
Broad Street 10-mile – 1:14:55
2016
Broad Street 10-mile – 1:15:51
2017
Love Run HM – 1:44:48
Broad Street 10-mile – 1:13:08
2019
Love Run HM – 1:42:12
Broad Street 10-mile – 1:11:44
2021
Double Trouble 15K Trail Run – 1:12:48
1:21:52 HM is equivalent to:
Marathon – 2:50:56
15K – 56:51
10K – 37:00
5K – 17:50
Maybe it is time to get Marathon Investigation on the case
What are some potential explanations?
I looked at another runner who finished within about 15 seconds of this "winner" to compare race results. These results add up to a 1:22 HM.
2014
Rock ‘n’ Roll HM (Washington DC) – 1:24:03
2016
Boston Marathon - 3:15:58
Philadelphia Distance Run - 1:2648
2017
Boston Marathon - 3:16:23
2018
Rock ‘n’ Roll HM (Washington DC) – 1:25:31
Boston Marathon - 3:05:00
Indianapolis Marathon - 2:58:32
2019
Rock ‘n’ Roll HM (Washington DC) – 1:25:12
Boston Marathon - 3:04:55
Broad Street 10-mile - 1:02:30
Philly 10K - 39:19
Bird in Hand HM - 1:26:46
Wineglass Marathon - 2:57:43
2021
Queens HM - 1:23:07
Philly 10K - 36:41
It looks to me like this guy might have cut the course when a $3,000 check was put in front of his face. You don't run 1:13 for 15K and then 1:22 for HM a few weeks later. This is worse than the guy who broke the age group marathon record, got caught, and then committed suicide. At least he didn't take any money, just fame. If they can prove he cut the course, then this is a crime in my opinion.
EZ money wrote:
It looks to me like this guy might have cut the course when a $3,000 check was put in front of his face. You don't run 1:13 for 15K and then 1:22 for HM a few weeks later. This is worse than the guy who broke the age group marathon record, got caught, and then committed suicide. At least he didn't take any money, just fame. If they can prove he cut the course, then this is a crime in my opinion.
The1;13 15K was a trail race and Jack finished 3rd overall.
Jack appears to be on Strava, but must request to follow.