I need proof wrote:
[...] Neil had to know that this was a pipe dream and not possible.
Ok, clearly I need to reiterate some stuff for you.
Neil was approached by DR to train him for a sub-3:30 VMLM. He set him a training plan to achieve that. He received no feedback from DR - in the form of Garmin data etc - other than messages to say that he'd done whatever was required that day; he did not take him out for training runs.
DR appeared at only one of his evening training sessions and struggled. He excused this by saying he'd been on a 30 mile yomp in full combat kit that morning. Come the day, he rocked up for VMLM, sent Neil a message - no pic - saying that he was on the start line. That was his one and only contact on the day.
There was then the charade of the missing time, the claim that they weren't published for SF for reasons of persec and then TR advised Neil that he'd run 3:12. As Neil has said on here, this was surprising, as he'd only set up a training plan for him to beat 3:30. One evening was spent doing some checks, tying-in with my raising of concerns to Neil that he was a complete lying toad about his military service, with particular reference to SF, included checking of finish times of those bibs around him in the few photos on the Mall, indicating that he was around 4:20ish. I had a mooch on Companies' House website, having heard of apparent dodgy dealings with a car company in the past; it didn't take long to unearth some information on both DR and TR and someone else came up with the name change stuff that same evening. We spent time looking at photos to see if he was even wearing his shoe tag, eventually establishing that he actually was and that the tag was the same as my one (I ran 2016VMLM too). We couldn't come up with a scenario as to why his start time was exactly the same as the fast boys right at the front, other than his tag not having been activated at Expo, which may or may not be the case and the technical jury is still out on that one. Whatever, it was readily apparent that DR was not all that he appeared to be cracked up to be and his cliché comments,including, amongst many, "I leave helicopters by the back doors, not the side ones" lent further credence (cerntainly in my eyes) to the probability that he was, at the very least, a Walt.
Neil backed off from him from this point forward, whilst maintaining a veneer of friendliness and support for his LeJog venture; he was not appointed as his coach. DR did the run between the two shops as advertising both for the shop and his venture. He promised that loads of his forces mates would be out along the route. In the event, there were - predictably - none. It does appear that this may actually be one run that he did do for the full distance: 36 miles in around 7 hours or so. He had said at one point that he was a recovering alcoholic (along with his 60-a-day habit and blood coughing-up), yet, at completion of the run, was happy to neck a bottle of plonk that was offered to him. This was also the point where the original driver - no idea who that was - apparently pulled out, leaving him in the lurch. Joe stepped in at this point to help him out.
Originally, he was to have a camper van from Capricorn Campers; one was used on the Norwich to London jaunt. This deal suddenly fell through not too long before the start of LeJog - no one outside of T/DR really knows why - being replaced by a van from First Self Drive. DR explained the change away by saying that the campervan would be too comfortable, he needed to be in the zone all the time, so roughing it in the van was the way to go.
Regarding the filming in the shop, which some on here seem to have taken as implicit confirmation that Neil was actively involved in the whole shebang, DR actually turned up unannounced with the film crew. Neil is too nice a guy to have just turned them away, but the resulting footage has been made to look like he was involved in some way in the coaching.
Another Walt example: he excused himself from one training session by saying that he had an annual qualifying parachute jump to do that afternoon to keep his wings. Asked when next seen as to how it went, he replied that it was apparently cancelled due to weather conditions.
So, the overall impression was that he was a bit of a Walt, bigging up a non-descript military career - there are many who do - and was unlikely to get anywhere near the record for the LeJog run, but good on him for having a go. It was all a bit strange, but no one aware of the venture viewed it as any more than a pipedream and certainly not with regard to any possibility of funds misappropriation.
Neil, Chas (W2R) and Martin (Dunerunner) all had real doubts that he could do it, but were more generous with their opinions about him than I have ever been with mine. But then, I'm the only one who has been in the forces (not SF, I was only a crap hat), so my Walt radar is somewhat more tuned-in than theirs would have had cause to be.
As far as the money side of things goes, I have no idea. I've posted what I have been made aware of from various sources, but it is no more than hearsay and has yet to be proven. Something doesn't add up - literally and figuratively - that much is clear and I guess that will come out in the fullness of time, once it all goes more mainstream than this website.