Who is the most ridiculous, fraudulent 'runner/con artist' that you've ever encountered?

Every 4 year cycle in the year before the next Olympics, gullible newspaper writers who don't know the sport will do some piece on the local guy/gal who is 'shooting for the Olympics'. Never mind that their PRs aren't within shouting distance of the qualifying B mark; they are Olympics Bound!

I saw an article this past winter in a local montly sports rag by some trail runner honk who was going off for the whole article about how his buddy was going to 'surprise' people at xc nationals. His pal ended up in the 80's in the results. I guess everyone else was expecting him to finish in the 120's?

Two words: Desmond O'Connor

He makes Eddy Hellebuyck look like a choir boy.

William Jurena?

Michael Corn wrote:

Two words: Desmond O'Connor

He makes Eddy Hellebuyck look like a choir boy.

Not sure what you mean. Can you elaborate?

I ran against O'Connor in the early 70s, first when he was at Arkansas, (one of McConnell's first Irish imports), then when he transfered to San Angelo State (when he got kicked off the team at Arkansas). He was a legiitimate, decent distance runner; with respectable times. Definitely NOT the top echelon of Irish guys at US colleges in the early-mid 70s, (ie, Villanova, Providence, East Tennessee, Arkansas, etc), but a good, scholarship runner who placed high in most meets. You just had to keep an eye on your belongings when he was around.

What did he do to get booted from Arkansaw?

hint is in the last sentence of previous post.

Anyone read the latest article about Brandon Moen and his asipirations for a medal in the 2012 Olympic Marathon? It's a hoot.

steak knife wrote:

What did he do to get booted from Arkansaw?

He didn't get booted from Arkansaw; he was booted from Road Eyeland. Damn you're stoopid.

nc runner wrote:

Anyone read the latest article about Brandon Moen and his asipirations for a medal in the 2012 Olympic Marathon? It's a hoot.

yeah, was that the 232 marathoner that moved to Wyoming or Montana and was one of the only 'runners' in the small town he lived in and how he was going for the sub 222 qualifier at Chicago? The picture of him in the tux was downright creepy. If he is a 232 guy, I suppose it is possible for him to run a 2:21:59 if he trains hard all summer and has the 'race of his life' at Chicago. Still, the article definitely 'oversold' him and his abilities, thus far.

Anthony Crudale

Webster the Word Guy wrote:

steak knife wrote:

What did he do to get booted from Arkansas?

He didn't get booted from Arkansas; he was booted from Road Eyeland. Damn you're stoopid.

what are you talking about? elaborate please or are you just wasting time with the misspellings?

Actually I think he is down to either 226 or 228, so I do have more respect for him than I used to if that is true.

quote]steak knife wrote:

What did he do to get booted from Arkansaw?[/quote]

He didn't get booted from Arkansaw; he was booted from Rhode Island. quote

then why did he leave Arkansas after the '73 season and end up at San Angelo State in Texas, running with another good foreigner, Guy Levy from So. Africa?

when was he at U. of Rhode Island? I've never heard of any distance runners or teams from there.

Martin Franklin

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=508745&thread=506960

I was at about the 6k mark of a big, but local 10k race (Perrier, Beverly Hills 10k), when a guy jumped out of the crowd and started running the race. He had a number and everything. He didn't stay with me long, I ran a 30:48 that day and got 12th. Not sure where the guy ended up fading back to, for running his 4k race. This was in the late 70s, before they really started looking for cheats like that. Either Bill Rodgers or Steve Scott won it, can't remember.

Who was the guy back in the late '70s who claimed that he was the Canadian marathoner Jerome Drayton? He had a small town in the southern US convinced that he was Drayton and the town helped sponsor the fraud's training.

I read a story in the Charlotte Observer prior to the '96 Olympics about a guy training for the games. He convinced his employer, a bank, that he was a legitamite marathon contender. They set up a program for him where he got paid for 40 hours a week, but worked only 20-25 so he could train properly. This went on for almost two years. The problem is that the guy had a PR of 2:28-2:30. The story quoted the bank officials saying how much positive publicity they were expecting to get for their actions when this guy medaled. The guy had obviously told the employer quite a story.

Michael Corn wrote:

Two words: Desmond O'Connor

He makes Eddy Hellebuyck look like a choir boy.

I remember O'Connor from the late 80's New Orleans scene. It never got old watching him run the Rod Stewart scam. You're right. You had to keep an eye on your wallet around him. I'm amazed he still runs respectable times for a full blown drunk. I was coached for two semesters by a friend of his: Ian Wilkenson.