2018 ironman texas ?????

your statement is supposed to be in pink Right?

Do you mean the cheating or the aggressive and transparent action by the race director?

I'm not talking about drafting on an ironman, I'm talking about widespread cheating (blatantly cutting the course) on a HALF marathon for cripes sake. I mean don't you think this is just plain weird? Never heard of this in the states. Have any of you?

---

"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

How about over 400 folks missing timing mats (including several BQ'ers) in a race known to be easy to cut and a race organization that doesn't seem to really care?

https://www.marathoninvestigation.com/...-race-officials.html

My thoughts exactly. It sounds like many of the cheaters were bandits or bib swaps which is rampant at big road events in the US and UK based on my experience. At the end of the day going after cheaters does little to help a RD (either from a financial or PR perspective) so while admire the Chinese approach I don't fully understand it. Yes the race is losing revenue on every bandit but the costs of going after those bandits is pretty high and I don't think they really deter others from trying. Unless of course the laws in China allow the races to really hammer the cheats which isn't possible under US or UK law.

Communist Party of China and the People's Liberation Army.

It's not like the Chinese to cut corners...

You live under a rock?

https://www.marathoninvestigation.com/


Disney anything and Honolulu marathon. More than 200 cheaters and they NEVER got banned.

ETA: I know you don't pay attention to US cheating but also search up the Mexico City Marathon for even worse numbers.

---

808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

Hah! 10/10

---

808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

It is a universal phenomenon reflective of human failing around the world. It's not racial, it's not ethnic, it's not national; it's just a sad fact that a sizeable percentage of people in this world will cheat to meet their goals.

That is indeed sad. Yes, I must live under a rock. People pay to cheat in a half marathon. Bizarre!

---

"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

they cut corners because we want it for $1, supply and demand not stereotypes.

Check out the marathoninvestigation talk about the Phoenix Marathon (I think it is) too. The course appears almost designed to enable easy cheating and they don't care.

---

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

https://www.marathoninvestigation.com/2018/11/over-250-runners-caught-cheating-at-shenzhen-half-marathon-is-not-a-shock.html

The marathon investigation piece on this is specifically about how common this is.

Oh the irony......

---

He who understands the WHY, will understand the HOW.

It seems this attitude is why the large pelotons form at every Ironman race...

There's no attitude there. What would you consider worse: an athlete who drafts on the bike course or an athlete who cuts the marathon course by half? One warrants a penalty, the other a DQ. Both athletes are cheating, but at different levels.

---

"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Alpha types biking on a congested course and being passed by peloton might be slightly more understandable

Although maybe not, half marathon is more of a fun distance which less athletic people might choose. People that don't really love endurance sport but ended up signing up because thier buddies, friends or colleagues were running and it sounded like a fun thing to be able to say the did .. But actually after the initial excitement wore off hated every minute of training. Then there wouldn't be any honor for the sport when choosing to end the suffering sooner. Maybe some got confused and followed the herd thinking there was a course update they didn't know about?

There was a famous mass run course cut in Mexico too right?