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

Spreadsheet is finished. All relevant links are in https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s0f2sI8FvoD4nFriEngQQXhwBqYbVLq0V5VjI2ARRp4/edit#gid=0

Mr. Mellotron wrote:

Well, his ready excuse is that he was injured going into Boston. But then Rossi turned right around and ran the Broad Street 10-miler in Philly last weekend, sooooo....

He has only been healthy for one race in his career.

SaraB wrote:

Spreadsheet is finished. All relevant links are in

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s0f2sI8FvoD4nFriEngQQXhwBqYbVLq0V5VjI2ARRp4/edit#gid=0

This is great Sara. Thank you.

paul patterson wrote:

Mr. Mellotron wrote:

Well, his ready excuse is that he was injured going into Boston. But then Rossi turned right around and ran the Broad Street 10-miler in Philly last weekend, sooooo....

He has only been healthy for one race in his career.

...and what a race it was!

P.S. well done SaraB!

hold out Mike ... I need this thread to keep going ... actually if you could just do a 5k this weekend or post on your Facebook page some talk about qualifying for the Olympic trials ... stoke the fire

I know I speak for a lot of us who are hanging on this thread ... do not go gently into the night

I gotta agree, he doesn't appear to be limping.

This is worth a watch; at the end the reporter says something about race organizers contacting the 126 people who finished around Rossi.

he can get to 2:18 in the full by Jan 2016 in an IRAN Marathons race

with Ryan Hall fading ... Mike Rossi is our great last hope for 2016 ... "train hard win easy"

SaraB wrote:

Spreadsheet is finished. All relevant links are in

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s0f2sI8FvoD4nFriEngQQXhwBqYbVLq0V5VjI2ARRp4/edit#gid=0

Awesome! Thanks for posting.

I am using this as a teaching opportunity for my kids and for the kids I coach. I am having a hard time explaining why anyone would cheat to achieve a goal.

proud dad wrote:

I am using this as a teaching opportunity for my kids and for the kids I coach. I am having a hard time explaining why anyone would cheat to achieve a goal.

Narcissism, the inability to believe that he actually isn't good enough, and the belief that because he 'deserves it', the rules don't apply to him.

proud dad wrote:

I am using this as a teaching opportunity for my kids and for the kids I coach. I am having a hard time explaining why anyone would cheat to achieve a goal.

Also, I'm pretty sure to him it's not a 'goal', it's a 'status'. Look at all that Boston crap he wears.

Just wondering why this thread is still going so strong. Hasn't everything been discovered, analyzed and proven? What more is there to do here?

Line 53e: screenshot where he asks fb friends to vote for him for the cover of RW. LOL, what a publicity hound. This almost makes me spit my coffee laughing. Also the snippet on NBC Philly's segment where the reporter's on the phone with him while he's backing out of appearing on camera. SMH. Separately I hope NYRR pulls his entry for the NYC marathon. Those spots are incredibly sought after. Most local runners at his level are shut out unless they go the run 9+volunteer 1 route. NYRR doesn't release the breakdown of lottery acceptances by locality, but I believe for locals the acceptance rate is practically nil. It's beyond galling to imagine this blowhard vamping it up on Fourth Avenue ("I looked at my watch and I was almost on pace for another BQ!!")

abingtonrunner wrote:

SaraB wrote:

Spreadsheet is finished. All relevant links are in

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s0f2sI8FvoD4nFriEngQQXhwBqYbVLq0V5VjI2ARRp4/edit#gid=0

This is great Sara. Thank you.

Y Man wrote:

Just wondering why this thread is still going so strong. Hasn't everything been discovered, analyzed and proven? What more is there to do here?

I think someone said earlier that it's fascinating to watch a train wreck in slow motion. And since came back to check on the thread, I'd suspect you're likely to agree.

I think this guy is guilty as sin but just to put things into perspective- I ran a 2:43 in October. I was hurt for most of the winter but decided to jog around Boston- I ended up lazing around in 3:20 but the last 1-2 miles hurt a lot and I slipped time over the last few miles I only say that to point out that being injured / undertrained can have a real impact even when jogging 40 mins slower than your PB

FrankShorter wrote:

Hawkeye wrote:

I broke down his 5K splits.

Boston 5K splits

1st 5K Split 24:06 7:45 per mile

2nd 5K Split 26:01 8:22 per mile

3rd 5K Split 27:20 8:47 per mile

4th 5K Split 28:53 9:18 per mile

5th 5K Split 27:25 8:49 per mile

6th 5K Split 32:13 10:22 per mile

7th 5K Split 31:45 10:13 per mile

8th 5K Split 31:12 10:03 per mile

Overall pace for marathon 9:14 per mile

For someone who qualified for Boston with a 7:19 per mile pace he started out very conservatively. You would expect he would keep that pace or even negative split the race. An 8:00 per mile pace should be cakewalk for him. He couldn't even hold that pace past the first 5K. Its not like he went out hard and blew up.

This really puts it in perspective.

NowFindJimmyHoffa wrote:

Y Man wrote:

Just wondering why this thread is still going so strong. Hasn't everything been discovered, analyzed and proven? What more is there to do here?

I think someone said earlier that it's fascinating to watch a train wreck in slow motion. And since came back to check on the thread, I'd suspect you're likely to agree.

Y Man wrote:

Just wondering why this thread is still going so strong. Hasn't everything been discovered, analyzed and proven? What more is there to do here?

To burn this guy's public persona to ashes. He is the worst kind of cheater - narcissistic, antagonistic and committed to his deceit. This prick needs to be flogged until he comes clean. Call it a jihad on liars. We shall not rest.

Until we hear from the Via Marathon RD, the case remains open.

St. Marker wrote:

I think this guy is guilty as sin but just to put things into perspective- I ran a 2:43 in October. I was hurt for most of the winter but decided to jog around Boston- I ended up lazing around in 3:20 but the last 1-2 miles hurt a lot and I slipped time over the last few miles

I only say that to point out that being injured / undertrained can have a real impact even when jogging 40 mins slower than your PB

FrankShorter wrote:

This really puts it in perspective.

I agree with St. Marker here - the real point about his other races is that all 20 of them have been pretty consistent with each other, and nowhere close to the 3:11 at Lehigh. Also I thought Rob E's analysis, involving half marathon times leading up to a marathon, was also really convincing. But a slow time at Boston by itself isn't incriminating, just humorous icing on the cake once you're convinced by all the other stuff.