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Runner Disqualified After Claiming 2nd Place in Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon

marathoninvestigation.com

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Re: Runner Disqualified After Claiming 2nd Place in Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon

#101

Post by Ntrails »

barking wrote: post #71
nicky0 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case the runner needed to achieve a certain qualification time for another event. So she was under pressure, which led to the poor decision.

I wish people would not refer to dishonest decisions as poor decisions. It's an example of spin and was doubtless invented by a PR company for some politician caught with his pants down.

Why? If I choose to cheat on a test to pass a class and avoid studying it's a poor decision (from a risk vs reward perspective) and also a dishonest one (from a societal perspective). Many dishonest choices are poor ones.

I guess you're arguing that poor implies bad judgement which is a lesser crime than dishonesty? But actually in some cases I'd rather have the latter than the former.

Re: Runner Disqualified After Claiming 2nd Place in Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon

#102

Post by massysett »

southphillyman wrote: post #96

I did this by accident before, at a 5K. I arrived to the race so late that when I crossed the starting line to BEGIN the race it registered that as my finish time and I'm posted on the result website as finishing in 2nd place.

You didn't "do this" unless you also stood on a podium, lied to race officials, and tried to cover it up.

Re: Runner Disqualified After Claiming 2nd Place in Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon

#103

Post by massysett »

jomar wrote: post #57

You would think the turnaround point would be a natural place for the race organisers to put a timing mat. They would capture an extra split time and be able to automatically identify runners succumbing to this temptation.

Some of them do this. The Marine Corps Marathon places mats at the end of long turnaround points and they say they routinely disqualify people.

Re: Runner Disqualified After Claiming 2nd Place in Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon

#104

Post by gk1 »

jomar wrote: post #57

You would think the turnaround point would be a natural place for the race organisers to put a timing mat. They would capture an extra split time and be able to automatically identify runners succumbing to this temptation.

Timing mats are usually placed at the same distance in every race: 5k, 10k, 13.1mi, etc. Adding extra mats probably means more cost.

That didn't prevent the 2016 Philadelphia Marathon organizers from placing an unannounced mat at a turnaround point 22 miles into the race. It helped them catch hundreds of cheaters.

And even if you can afford the extra mats, another challenge is where to place them. It's obvious with an out-and-back course, but there are many shortcut opportunities on every loop path, and you can't place a mat at every apex.

Re: Runner Disqualified After Claiming 2nd Place in Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon

#105

Post by arctangent »

kriro wrote: post #87

For me the most interesting tidbit is that she biked the entire race afterwards in a cover up attempt. Are there any studies on doing something wrong and escalating it with coverup attempts? Or is there a name for this that I'm not aware of? I know it has to be the theme of at least one classical drama...sort of a reverse "Hans in Luck" of sorts...I dunno. I have witnessed this pattern before and the spiral that pers…

I suppose the definitive example of this would be the Watergate scandal [1], which led to the coining of the phrase "It's not the crime, it's the cover-up".

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal

Re: Runner Disqualified After Claiming 2nd Place in Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon

#106

Post by Humdeee »

pc86 wrote: post #99
greeneggs wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many races do have cash prizes. For a smaller race, it could be just a trophy, or a trophy plus something from a sponsor, but it could also be cash ($50-$100+ range).

I have to believe that most people can make $100 in much easier ways than running most of a marathon

I'm an avid runner. I can say with confidence there's next to no money in running if you're not a unicorn in the elite circuit. I follow the sub-elite scene moderately closely I'd say. The successful ones who are at it full time and have a sponsorship may live in a house or condo not much bigger than a shack. Some live out of their van.

Re: Runner Disqualified After Claiming 2nd Place in Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon

#107

Post by aioprisan »

npunt wrote: post #20

Regardless of the cheating, this type of post doesn't fully sit right with me. Given the permanence of record on the internet, this does bring up the issue of how we police bad behavior, and how we incorporate forgiveness into that. That said, the poster was pretty fair, and generally refer to her as "the runner". It definitely reads as an obsessive sleuthing, no doubt in part because there were follow-on discoveries…

Why should someone who cheated at a PUBLIC event and very publicly claimed the prize and actively misled other runners and the judging committee not be exposed publicly? Is it not in the public interest to punish these peoples? Or should we never report on such misdeeds for fear of any personal and professional retribution? Isn't that part of being a responsible adult in a civil society? She's a sponsored running/lifestyle blogger, for God's sake! The social contract works for a reason.

Re: Runner Disqualified After Claiming 2nd Place in Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon

#108

Post by barking »

Ntrails wrote: post #101
barking wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish people would not refer to dishonest decisions as poor decisions. It's an example of spin and was doubtless invented by a PR company for some politician caught with his pants down.

Why? If I choose to cheat on a test to pass a class and avoid studying it's a poor decision (from a risk vs reward perspective) and also a dishonest one (from a societal perspective). Many dishonest choices are poor ones. I guess you're arguing that poor implies bad judgement which is a lesser crime than dishonesty? But actually in some cases I'd rather have the latter than the former.

Poor is deliberately chosen in an effort to understate things.

I can see why she would try to downplay her actions and hope that everyone else would play along.

Re: Runner Disqualified After Claiming 2nd Place in Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon

#109

Post by Humdeee »

gk1 wrote: post #104
jomar wrote: post #57

You would think the turnaround point would be a natural place for the race organisers to put a timing mat. They would capture an extra split time and be able to automatically identify runners succumbing to this temptation.

Timing mats are usually placed at the same distance in every race: 5k, 10k, 13.1mi, etc. Adding extra mats probably means more cost. That didn't prevent the 2016 Philadelphia Marathon organizers from placing an unannounced mat at a turnaround point 22 miles into the race. It helped them catch hundreds of cheaters. And even if you can afford the extra mats, another challenge is where to place them. It's obvious with a…

Many of the bigger city marathons are simply placing them at every 5k interval (20k will be 21.1k). I try and run 1-2 marathons a year and the results are posted minutes after I cross the line. It's always fun to see how many places I creep up as the days go by afterwards from people getting DQ'ed.

It's too easy to match pictures to a bib number and then simply look at the splits and wonder why someone ran a record breaking 10 minute 5k near the end after cruising along at a series of 25 minute 5k's. An 8 year old kid can investigate this stuff.

Re: Runner Disqualified After Claiming 2nd Place in Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon

#110

Post by flocial »

usrusr wrote: post #79
timdaub wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> while using photos of the person involved, never uses their full name, so is to some extent not google-able Wat? Clearly her name is exposed in the Strava screenshot. Took me exactly 2mins to find significant details about her in the blog post (also: if not, you can easily reverse-image-search her runner photos). It's great to have her disqualified from the race, she clearly cheated. Putting the whole story on the…

The podium is all about attention. She put her face and name out into the public before the blogger did.

Yes but the comment's assertion is valid. Because the screenshots clearly reveal her name and social media handles even if the article refers to her as "the runner".
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