I Am Sam wrote:
worst debater eve wrote:
Yes, that's faster. What's your point? 2:53 at 48 or whatever is still very fast.
In response to a view that people dont run 2:52 in mid 40's
Keep up
No one said that people don't run 2:52 in their mid-40s. Rather, the poster to whom you were responding was quoting from a New Yorker article about one of the more fascinating cheaters, a seemingly respectable dentist named Kip Litton, exposed by sleuths on this message board. Here is a link to the article:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/08/06/marathon-manHere, in context, is the specific quotation:
One of the LetsRun sleuths’ most impressive unearthings was a photograph taken near the thirty-kilometre checkpoint of the 2010 Boston Marathon. It depicted six runners wearing singlets or short-sleeved shirts, their racing bibs attached, on pace for sub-three-hour performances. At the left edge of the frame, slightly cropped, was Litton. The others were clearly in brisk mid-stride. Litton appeared to be walking, or slowly jogging, along the shoulder of the road, and he wore a long-sleeved black shirt, black sweatpants, a black baseball cap, and shades. He had no racing bib showing. He was credited that year with a time of 2:52:12.
At Wendy’s, we did not discuss the photograph. But, a few weeks later, I attached it to an e-mail and told him, in so many words, “Gotcha.” No non-élite runner in his late forties could run a 2:52:12 marathon—an average pace of 6:34 per mile—in mild weather wearing that kind of clothing. (Before the finish line, the long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants had been swapped for a T-shirt, shorts, and a different hat.) By not showing a bib mid-race, Litton was counting on not being photographed, or at least not being recognized as a race entrant. Sticking to the shoulder allowed him to get close enough for his chip to register at the thirty-kilometre checkpoint.
Rereading this passage about the curious case of Kip Litton, D.D.S., I'm struck by the similarities in so many cases over the years. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. But they still fascinate me.