The New Yorker-Marathon Man

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ZenInTexas
ZenInTexas Posts: 781 Member
Fascinating article. How do you think he did it? I know some of us have encountered cheaters, or people we have suspected of cheating in races. It's a long read, grab a cup of coffee. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/08/06/marathon-man

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  • schmenge55
    schmenge55 Posts: 745 Member
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    Mind boggling
  • TomZot
    TomZot Posts: 165 Member
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    Wow.
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
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    I am speechless.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,983 Member
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    When they knew he was cheating, instead of letting him know and trying to meet him, when he knew someone would be keeping watch, they should have kept an eye on him from afar.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    I followed this on LetsRun.com as it was unfolding. Totally unreal on many levels. The amount of time and effort put into outing this guy is incredible.
  • HappyRunner34
    HappyRunner34 Posts: 394 Member
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    That is crazy! And still so many questions unanswered!
  • KeithAngilly
    KeithAngilly Posts: 575 Member
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    A sad story, for sure... the road to hell, and all. It's good example of how a small deceit can snow ball into something much worse. It's easy (for me, at least) to see him as something of a sympathetic figure, until I think of the guys that got deprived of their day in the sun because of this. Months of training snatched away by a cheat.


    As an aside, I am glad the author spent a little ink on exposing Letsrun's forums for what they are. From where I am sitting, it is a cesspool of anonymous sniping and trolling. It's a shame, because there is some good stuff hidden in there, but there is way to much garbage to wade through to get to it, imo.
  • TheBrolympus
    TheBrolympus Posts: 586 Member
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    I half expected the author to reveal that the man didn't have a wife or kids at the end of the article. Some people get so caught up in their lies that it becomes real to them.
  • KeithAngilly
    KeithAngilly Posts: 575 Member
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    I half expected the author to reveal that the man didn't have a wife or kids at the end of the article. Some people get so caught up in their lies that it becomes real to them.

    Oh, I agree with that completely, Ken. I have met so many people over the years that really seem to believe the stories they make up. It's like any other addictive type behavior...it just feeds on itself until eventually it becomes reality.
  • SillyC2
    SillyC2 Posts: 275 Member
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  • sinister2014
    sinister2014 Posts: 92 Member
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    what a crazy story!

    how do you guys think he pulled it off so many times on so many different courses?
  • lulukittie
    lulukittie Posts: 340 Member
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    I am dying at the t-shirts! What a wild story.
  • RachelRuns9
    RachelRuns9 Posts: 585 Member
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    Wow.. bizarre.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    The thing that really gets me about this is that it appears as though he is actually a pretty accomplished runner on top of all of this. It would be bad enough for somebody that has never even laced up their shoelaces to try and pull this off, but for somebody that knows what it takes to run a sub 3:30 marathon...it just boggles my mind. Why would you even think about doing that to your fellow runners???