So I found a pair of bib-swappers, the aftermath has been interesting.

I tried to read the blog and I was unable to break the code for her cryptography. I know there must be some code which will explain the purpose behind the seemingly random assortment of words, but it alludes me.

Anyway. I'm so bad at deciphering the code I can't even figure out who is suppose to be who. Can someone help me out? In the very first photo where they are holding up the sign with words on it ("hello from, etc"), which one is John and which one is Richard? Does anyone know where she got this photo of the two of them?

According to experts, the Australian sky is closer to ultramarine blue than cerulean blue (azurite), which is used for European skies.

In the very first photo where they are holding up the sign with words on it ("hello from, etc"), which one is John and which one is Richard? Does anyone know where she got this photo of the two of them?

According to the OP blogpost text, that picture was her opportunity to spread a virus. The picture might be faked (PhotoShop), as the background sky (upper right) is not Australian Sky Blueâ„¢. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

The 1st photo?? wrote:

I tried to read the blog and I was unable to break the code for her cryptography. I know there must be some code which will explain the purpose behind the seemingly random assortment of words, but it alludes me.

I thought I understood it, but then I reached this point (last section before "In conclusion").

OP blog:

So what about NotJohn and NotRich

I still haven't gotten to the part where this becomes relevant to our two bib-swappers from Gold Coast, but I'm trying.

The word "trying" is completely crypto to me here. Why didn't she just cut the first 8 (irrelevant) pages before that, and get to this NotJohn and NotRich part earlier? What's so trying about that?

OP blog: ... and please keep reading.

This looks like some attempt to hypnotise the reader into doing something irrational.

Professional Acrylic Artist wrote:

Can see stars from my doorstep wrote:

Is the sky really that sky-lightblue in Australia? I mean in the outback, where there's no light pollution.

According to experts, the Australian sky is closer to ultramarine blue than cerulean blue (azurite), which is used for European skies.

http://matisse.com.au/products/matisse-structure-formula/colours-sizes/australian-sky-blue-m7asbl/

Matisse Australian Sky Blue is a simple blend of Ultramarine and Titanium White. .

I myself, Eisel Mazard, having visited Australia on many occasions (while working as a covert operative for the CIA), can assure readers that Matisse Australian Sky Blue is in fact a slightly lighter shade of blue than the blue of Australian skies (which are a different blue than northern hemisphere skies due to the less polluted air in Australia, and hence, stronger light). This you can regard as a fact beyond dispute, just as it's indisputable that, in this case, bibs were swapped, not names or nicknames.

Has the OP come back to explain things?

Or she could have made another blogpost. Actually, I'm glad she hasn't.

Do blue blogs make more money? wrote:

So you're saying that the whole OP blog is a money-making machine

[/quote]

It's not, it's about ego and 'look at me'.

Is there any place that sells used bibs? Or do they remain the property of the marathon?

So what about NotJohn and NotRich

Is it clear that Rich is NotJohn and conversely NotRich is John, or did this go unproven by the OP?

Has the OP come back to explain things?

Maybe the threats finally silenced her. Even though she gave these as the reason for her publicity campaign in the first place.

Is she posting in other LRC threads? Or completely incommunicado?

Big gaping hole in the "story" wrote:

Now we know that this whole "first names on bibs" theory of the OP is totally shot in the water. What would spectators think with a guy labelled 'MONA' running by? I wonder what will be the next domino to tumble. The pieces of this complex jig-saw are falling into place.

According to bibnumbers.com, it costs $0.05 per bib extra to have "Custom bib with participant's name" (ex: John Smith). At current exchange rates, it's probably higher in Australia. But the Gold Coast event of the OP only used first names (and nicknames it seems). So maybe they got a half-price deal?

Extra bibbing, for a price wrote:

Big gaping hole in the "story" wrote:

Now we know that this whole "first names on bibs" theory of the OP is totally shot in the water. What would spectators think with a guy labelled 'MONA' running by? I wonder what will be the next domino to tumble. The pieces of this complex jig-saw are falling into place.

According to bibnumbers.com, it costs $0.05 per bib extra to have "Custom bib with participant's name" (ex: John Smith). At current exchange rates, it's probably higher in Australia. But the Gold Coast event of the OP only used first names (and nicknames it seems). So maybe they got a half-price deal?

Notice there are two styles of numbers. One for the elites, bold name small numbers; and one for the plebs, bold numbers, small name. So when spectators see MONA run by, they're thinking that dude is a badass.

Notice there are two styles of numbers. One for the elites, bold name small numbers; and one for the plebs, bold numbers, small name. So when spectators see MONA run by, they're thinking that dude is a badass.

So you're saying a good reason that OP didn't bib-swap herself is because it would be too obvious for an elite to bib-swap with a non-elite, due to this clever coding scheme of the Gold Coast organizers?

If you can bear reading the original OP blogpost (not the cheating one), why is this Steve/MONA guy dancing with the Borobi koala mascot (whose blue colour is not quite Australian Sky Blue (tm)? And are the "African and Japanese super-elites" a super-category to the normal elites? Are there also are "super-non-elites" (either African/Japanese or otherwise), in the OP's terminology? Were any of John, Rich, NotJohn, NotRich, or any of their nicknames possibly in this super-non-category?

Still more questions wrote:

If you can bear reading the original OP blogpost (not the cheating one)...

About the best thing I can say about this OP prior blogpost is that she readily admits to struggling with tapering, and doesn't give a long-winded digression about it (like with "the delicate art of race pacing").

PS. I did manage to find the OP in the "Where's Waldo" challenge from the race start. She does seem to have a thing about scouring race photos:

the amazing John Shaw whom I beat 18 months ago in the Cadbury Hobart HM [link to blog entry] (he's in 2 photos running behind me)

Plus, she admits to being involved in the marathon-photo racket:

ensuring more hideous images that Marathon-Photo will subsequently sell to me at exorbitant prices

going down down down wrote:

So when spectators see MONA run by, they're thinking that dude is a badass.

Except that MONA was supposed to be pacing the 3-hour section. But he went too fast and finished soon after OP (2:49:xx).

The big question: When is Derek Murphy going to copy the OP's blog into his cheating blog?

Derek, why aren't you on top of this? There appears to be a cheating conspiracy down under. Bib swapping, name swapping, nick name swapping. This is truly devastating. Derek, are you going to ignore this opportunity or is the muck of rampant swap swapping in oz too thick for even you to wade through?

With the "Rock 'N Roll Cheater" now on his blog, my guess is that this thread will die. http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=7554725

Shake 'N Bake wrote:

With the "Rock 'N Roll Cheater" now on his blog, my guess is that this thread will die.

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=7554725

You guessed wrong, it's back on Page 1.