Boston Shoveler is a Bandit

patti wrote:

There are a couple of ways to enter Boston legally. One is to qualify.

If not, run for a charity and become part of the team to raise funds while receiving a training program.

And of course there are always exceptions. And yes, I do think adidas is happy to make the "Shoveler" legal.

I, for one, do not like "bandits", especially in a special race such as Boston.

Did the Hoyts get special treatment? Nada. They qualified by running the qualifying time for their division, men's open.

Steph was right in bringing the banditing (sp) to our attention. If Boston is so reverent to Chris, why did he bandit it 3 out of 4 years?

And who bandits a marathon anyway?

Although banditting was mentioned in the ESPN article, no one in the comments section mentioned said banditting....even the women who claimed to be a runner.

I am sick of everyone trying to make a feel good story out of nothing. So he shoveled the finish line. Boo hoo. There is really nothing to make of this. The fact he bandit the race tells me he more of an a-hole. Can we all stop with this everything is so special garbage?

It was a thoughtful thing to do. It was nice.

He was there, the opportunity was presented and he stepped up. And there you go. Walla!

Thank you Twitter.

Otherwise just a few people in the neighborhood would have known and he would have received a round (or two) and an applause at the bar! CHEERS!

I, for one, thought it was a nice, thought gesture.

If you were there and had a shovel, wouldn't you have thought of doing the same thing?

One time in October 19891 I singlehandedly went out and swept the falling leaves from the NYC Marathon finish line. It was 7am on a Friday. This job HAD to be done!

Cops on horseback almost fell off their mounts laughing at my ass. Then they stole my broom!

Someone should now pour water over the finish so after the first one or two wipeouts, fools don't start to run across the hallowed finish line re-enacting the glory of their bandit finishes.

For what he did from his heart, to me it doesn't matter to me if he was a bandit. I find it moot. Now that he's called out on it and with adidas giving him a number, I'm positive he will try to qualify for future Boston's.

Now, however, I think he is onto something. Keeping the finish line clear. I think there will be dedicated volunteers who will step up and keep it cleared.

Well said, Patti. This guy wasn't looking for publicity. He quietly went out and cleaned off the finish line because he wanted to. Someone captured the unselfish moment and posted it online so others could witness it. I'm not sure why some people feel the need to denigrate this.

Power to the people.

I wonder if Boston has the highest percentage of bandits amongst major races. My guess is there's 500 or more bandits each year.

There's a LOT more than 500.

Hi karma, I don't know either. I figure it's just people, ya'know. There's always somebody..lol!!!

there's a gazillion! (and I may know a few)..lol!!

One year I helped at the finish line to have the bandits not to go through the shoot.

I don't know if they still do that practice. Dave McGilvary, the race director did it about, ah, let me think, maybe twenty-five years ago.

Instant Karma wrote:

The money paid by the BAA is not enough to cover the costs to those towns. We taxpayers make up the difference. That's my entry fee. Power to the people.

So, assuming this is true (which it is not), it appears you feel entitled to run the BM since you are a local tax payer. So, I take it that you can only bandit races then that are in locales that you pay taxes in ? So, as a taxpayer in Boston, you surely would not have that same sense of entitlement to bandit the NY marathon, right ?

You provide Pics! and maybe we can get ASICS and the NYRR to give you a free entry.

wejo wrote:[/b

You provide Pics! and maybe we can get ASICS and the NYRR to give you a free entry.

Nice, very nice. LOL!!!!!!!

Deadman Running wrote:

Instant Karma wrote:

The money paid by the BAA is not enough to cover the costs to those towns. We taxpayers make up the difference. That's my entry fee. Power to the people.

So, assuming this is true (which it is not), it appears you feel entitled to run the BM since you are a local tax payer. So, I take it that you can only bandit races then that are in locales that you pay taxes in ? So, as a taxpayer in Boston, you surely would not have that same sense of entitlement to bandit the NY marathon, right ?

You are correct that I would never bandit NY.

You are wrong about the costs to the towns.

In Wellesley, which will receive $44,000 from the BAA this year, the contribution does not cover all of the prerace preparation and planning, extensive police and fire coverage on race day, and the cleanup after the crowds leave.

“The BAA makes a significant contribution toward defraying the costs, but it doesn’t cover everything,” Larsen said.

lighten up.

Gary Oldman wrote:

A superhero would have shoveled the start line and all the road between the two points.

FTFY

You guys make me sad. Sad that I am never going to get back the time of my life it took me to read through this forum. I could have been watching really cool WWE videos or playing with my cat. In fact, I'm gonna just pretend this never happened. I'm gonna go do wrestling moves on my cat. I think if the majority of you guys did the same, you're lives would be so much more fulfilling. You are hating a guy that made a great gesture to his city and the sport, is a bad to the bone bandit, and is probably wasting his time reading this forum. Wait, probably not that last part. Anyways, I gotta go. My match just began.