I have been involved in the Southern California high school XC coaching scene for decades and have been a regular in many of the road races and marathons in which Frank has claimed to have posted his record setting times. I know and highly respect Lalo Diaz, the head coach of Loyola High School's XC program. He consistently develops some of the nation's best prep talent (Matuzak, Torrence, Gedyon for example) and is generous with his time to mentor other coaches. Lalo is an icon in the Southern California XC community.
I think Lalo's status and the general respect that people have for him and what he has accomplished at Loyola have protected Frank Meza up to this point. Trust me, there has been a lot of whispering and raised eyebrows regarding Frank between many in the SoCal coaching and road racing communities for several years. But no one wanted to be, or even wants to be, the person who stepped forward with accusations against the "good doctor" (Meza has been involved with the Aztlan Track Club for years which does great work with underprivileged kids) and by association Lalo Diaz and the Loyola HS program.
I know that Frank did not run the full course at Long Beach a few years ago. He crossed the start line several minutes after the gun. He would have had to pass me some time after mile 10 or so when that race has really spread out. There just aren't that many sub 3:05 marathoners at Long Beach. I would have seen him. No doubt in my mind. When I saw his name in the results and did a little sleuthing, I discovered that he did not appear in ANY of the photos on the backside of the course. None. Every one else of that "speed" has multiple photos.
I have seen Meza on training runs for many years. He often runs in the Arroyo Seco just south of the Rose Bowl. Frank shuffles along, barely lifting his feet. His leg turnover does not show that he could come close to running the kinds of times he claims to be running. I am not surprised to hear that he does not work out with the Loyola team. He would be left in the dust...but his claimed times would indicate that he should be able to run solid workouts.
I now another respected, local high school XC coach who reported to me that he saw Frank walk off the course in the LA Marathon several years back. He knows Frank well. He saw him off to the side, walking up the sidewalk, against the direction of the race. He knew it was Frank based on the distinctive Aztlan tank and seeing his face. He thought to himself, "Bummer for Frank. Must have dropped out due to today's heat." This coach went on to run a 3:10 marathon. Imagine his surprise when he saw Frank's "finishing time" of a sub-3 hour marathon. No way.
Sadly, Frank appears to be digging in his heels on this one. But the evidence will continue to mount. In my opinion, there are several smoking guns already and probably more to come.
I know for sure that Meza will never toe the line at another marathon. Game over.
Thank you to Derrick/Marathon Investigation for the time and effort to help keeping our sport clean. Let's all contribute what we can to support his work