Posted by a guy on Facebook -
Approximately one month ago, I was fortunate enough to compete in the Badwater 135, "the worlds toughest footrace." This was my fourth finish and I once again found myself extremely fortunate enough to be surrounded by some of the best in the world. To be on the same playground as these athletes has always been truly humbling.
Running is more than a sport to me. Running represents everything life has to offer. The ups, the downs, the struggles, the elation, the passion, the tears, the mental, the internal drive. Nearly every runner I know feels this way. We love this sport more than anything.
I am quite bothered however by what I witnessed on the course this year. It was not just me who witnessed this, it was also my four crew members as well. WE witnessed someone cheating. This was not some minor slip of some minor rule interpretation. We observed flat out and blatant cutting the course. Cheating. Yes, a grown person cheating. WTF??? In addition to myself and my four crew members who witness this, this same person was also observed cheating by two other Badwater runners AND their crew members as well. So in all, three independent Badwater runners and nearly a dozen crew witnessed this. The three runners and their crew do not know each other. They are from different parts of the county. We recently reached out to each other to share what we saw. It was 100% consistent across the board. This runner was seen cheating. Nothing was done. Zero. I have since learned that this person has cheated all across the US in achieving various "records" including marathons, ultra-marathons, and yes, even Guinness Records. This was not their first time cheating at a major event.
I share this not because I have it out for someone. My life is plenty full of other meaningful and positive things to do and accomplish. I do, however, really care about the integrity of this sport. I have reached out to two of THE most respected Badwater veterans before I made this post...asking for their opinion and advice as what to do. "The truth needs to come out," they said. "You need to let the running community know so that change can be made." I care about the integrity of Badwater. I care about the 82 runners who honestly and successfully buckled this year. I also care about the 13 athletes who did not finish the course and respectfully and honorably DNF'd. I care enough about all these athletes to inform them that they were also cheated by this person. We all were. I will stand up and speak out. I will not leave this for someone else to deal with down the road. Enough is enough.
So, in sum, if you are going to claim to have buckled, make sure you actually honestly and legally covered the entire 135 miles in 48 hours or less.
Many of us know the truth already. Now many more of us do as well.
Lets Run thread exposing her as well:
http://www.letsrun.com/...d=5882052&page=0
Approximately one month ago, I was fortunate enough to compete in the Badwater 135, "the worlds toughest footrace." This was my fourth finish and I once again found myself extremely fortunate enough to be surrounded by some of the best in the world. To be on the same playground as these athletes has always been truly humbling.
Running is more than a sport to me. Running represents everything life has to offer. The ups, the downs, the struggles, the elation, the passion, the tears, the mental, the internal drive. Nearly every runner I know feels this way. We love this sport more than anything.
I am quite bothered however by what I witnessed on the course this year. It was not just me who witnessed this, it was also my four crew members as well. WE witnessed someone cheating. This was not some minor slip of some minor rule interpretation. We observed flat out and blatant cutting the course. Cheating. Yes, a grown person cheating. WTF??? In addition to myself and my four crew members who witness this, this same person was also observed cheating by two other Badwater runners AND their crew members as well. So in all, three independent Badwater runners and nearly a dozen crew witnessed this. The three runners and their crew do not know each other. They are from different parts of the county. We recently reached out to each other to share what we saw. It was 100% consistent across the board. This runner was seen cheating. Nothing was done. Zero. I have since learned that this person has cheated all across the US in achieving various "records" including marathons, ultra-marathons, and yes, even Guinness Records. This was not their first time cheating at a major event.
I share this not because I have it out for someone. My life is plenty full of other meaningful and positive things to do and accomplish. I do, however, really care about the integrity of this sport. I have reached out to two of THE most respected Badwater veterans before I made this post...asking for their opinion and advice as what to do. "The truth needs to come out," they said. "You need to let the running community know so that change can be made." I care about the integrity of Badwater. I care about the 82 runners who honestly and successfully buckled this year. I also care about the 13 athletes who did not finish the course and respectfully and honorably DNF'd. I care enough about all these athletes to inform them that they were also cheated by this person. We all were. I will stand up and speak out. I will not leave this for someone else to deal with down the road. Enough is enough.
So, in sum, if you are going to claim to have buckled, make sure you actually honestly and legally covered the entire 135 miles in 48 hours or less.
Many of us know the truth already. Now many more of us do as well.
Lets Run thread exposing her as well:
http://www.letsrun.com/...d=5882052&page=0