You really haven't missed much, as far as I can tell. About the only other thing that got interesting is that another local DJ with what seems to be a past business deal gone bad, had been posting on the thread - going so far as to attack MR's family and try to get MR's employer involved. That got uncovered as some sort of personal vendetta as the poster isn't even a runner, and apparently sought out the thread in an effort to add fuel to the fire. Other posters started attacking his credibility and him, and it seemed to become a distraction from the purpose of the thread. When it comes down to it, that probably did more damage to the case than helped it.

There really are only a handful of people that have something useful at this point, having done analysis of the race photos and trying to reach out to the marathon organizers, but I don't think they've made any progress, and it seems doubtful they will.

Other than that, it's a bunch of anonymous childish name-calling and taunting. Pretty much the entire Internet wrapped up into one thread! :)

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Travis Rassat
Vector Cycle Works
Noblesville, IN
BikeFit Instructor | FMS | F.I.S.T. | IBFI
Toughman Triathlon Series Ambassador

Thanks for the post and the link to the Let's Run article. I always find these cases fascinating. There are so many that play out exactly the same way. People should learn to prepare better when they cheat so they have a better cover story.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

I've talked with law enforcement and there really isn't any legal action at this point that can be taken. Supposedly something should be coming out soon in the media that will reveal how despicable Rossi is and has been behaving. You are definitely right with the observation that the thread has turned into a train wreck! There has been a lot of productive work done by some with analyzing all the photos, but tons of trolls posting, or possibly just Mike Rossi spending all his spare time there... Here's an example of some of the through work done to expose his cheating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGilRGr2GlI Maybe you've already seen that, but for those who haven't followed the letsrun thread, it is a video that shows that Mike Rossi was never photographed at any of the 5 spots where photographers were located, 1 in 500,000 chance of that happening!

Crazy thing is that letsrun deleted the main link to the thread, but it has continued to get tons of traffic! Since you can't find it from their page, if anyone wants to check it out, here is the link: http://www.letsrun.com/...d.php?thread=6479539

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Tony
http://www.triathleteguru.com

I reckon you should do the event for charity, then if you get found out then just admit it and say you didn't want to let the charity down by not getting to run Boston and raise even more money for disabled kids with cancer. That's my plan for KQ'ing anyway ;-)

letsrun came out with this article today.

http://www.letsrun.com/...ting-line-in-boston/

wow, where do people get the time to do that much research?

This video of 200 runners at a photo checkpoint must have taken forever..

Yeah, but it's damn powerful.

I am now dumber for reading this whole thing but I enjoyed it!

Is is possible for him to go from a 21 min 5K to 20 min with $10,000 on the line?

I am 5 years younger than him and have a much better history of quality runs both in training and races. I have not broken 20:00 as an adult.

I say 20:00 is safe.

Is is possible for him to go from a 21 min 5K to 20 min with $10,000 on the line?


EPO. I mean, it's not like the guy has any moral problems with cheating.

That makes sense. Amazing how his ego caught up with him......

His 5k PR is more like 21:50 if I recall correctly. That 2:00 is a pretty long way to go.

He ran 21:52 not 21:00. Taking off nearly 2 mins would be a huge amount in less than 6 months for someone who has never been that fast before. Of course, if his training already supports that kind of speed as Rossi claims, and he was just taking it easy in his build-up races, then he would be gunning for 20 flat to take the cash and salvage his reputation. But he can't and won't. Like Rosie Ruiz, I bet he will never race again because each time he steps foot on the line will only further prove that he was a cheat. Interestingly, after Boston, Rosie Ruiz did jail time and probation for embezzling $60,000 and later additional probation for her involvement in a cocaine deal. Karma.

It definitely seems the easiest of the challenges they throw out there. It's really closer to a 2 minute improvement which is a lot for a 5k, but still it seems like low hanging fruit. If nothing else, I don't see how a 6 month 5k crash course would in any way validate a 3:11 marathon.

True. I was wondering if he only trained for the 5K could he get there. Makes sense how far away it is - 34 seconds a mile....

As I mentioned earlier, I have little doubt that EPO + some intensive and focused training could get him there.

I would not be so quick, I looked at his twitter feed that was posted here and it looks like he is trying to do boston again.

I don't know...Haven't read the entire thread, but on it's face I think it's doable.

3 years ago, at 47, I ran a 19 minute+ 5k, then trained my ass off to try and qualify for Boston. I needed to go sub 3:30, prior PR was fairly recent and 3:26 so I thought it was easy money. For some stupid reason I decided at the start line I was a 3:10 marathoner and ran out with that pace group.

I hung on to that group for 20-something miles and I still believe if it wasn't so hot, if I hadn't stopped to pee twice, if I didn't have severe cramps slow me down with two miles left, I would have done it or at least go sub 3:15. I ended up missing BQ by under a minute, but that's another story.

Getting to my point, how old is this guy, how did he train, what was his motivation, what were race conditions? If my Phoenix Marathon was 10 degrees cooler, I would have been in Boston the year the bombing happened, which is off topic, but eerie and stops to make one think.

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“Bloom wherever you are planted"

I certainly could be wrong, but talk is cheap. Rosie Ruiz said the same thing. She was even offered a similar deal - run NYC Marathon in the fall in a slower but reasonable time and her victory would be reinstated. The rest is history and her name is synonymous with a cheat. Rossi won't achieve that level of infamy but he may go down as having started the greatest thread in Let's Run ever.

I have to agree. It seems like a strange bet, for someone to run a 5K in a certain amount of time, to validate their claimed performance in a marathon. I was in my best shape since I was a teenager, last fall, at age 48, when I was training for my third marathon and a BQ attempt. I ran with a pace group the entire way and finished in 3:22:19 (3:25 pace group). I don't think I could have run a much better race at that time. I was in far, far better shape than when I ran a 19:50 in my second ever 5K, 14 months earlier. To me, a sub-20 5K seems like an easy target, setting a new marathon PR is not. I wasn't even breathing very hard at the end of my 3:22 marathon, but my legs and form were trashed. It doesn't seem like it's from a shortage of long runs during training; I did six runs of 18-22 miles, plus a handful of 16's. Some people just have a higher percentage of fast twitch muscle fibers; maybe I'm one of them. If Mike Rossi is as well, a sub-20 5K may not be too hard to do without a crazy amount of training.

LOL. That was entertaining.

I don't understand, if he has the data, why not bitch slap all the critics? There would be no need to hire an attorney to defend yourself. Just show the data and laugh at everyone. He admits he has the data.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Occam's Razor says he doesn't have the data. If he did, not only could he shut everyone up, he's got several rock solid cases of libel.

After a preponderance of the evidence, mayhaps I was wrong. This guy cheated. I stand behind the statement that I think it's possible for a 21 min 5k guy to run a 3:11 marathon, but Occam's Razor logic prevails here.


He has too many 22 minute 5k's to suggest he had a bad day, or a bad course, too hot, too hilly. Pretty solid track record there unless he really just doesn't push too hard there and doesn't like the pain of 5k pace.


The fact that there are no pictures or other runners to vouch is what convinces me of foul play. I get 3-5 horrible pictures I will never buy and would pay money to have expunged from every database in every race I have been in.

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“Bloom wherever you are planted"

Exactly, thus I don't understand why he keeps himself in the limelight. Reminds me of Lance Armstrong and a few other baseball players. Just let it die. Vanish. Go away. Ignore it. This guy has some serious mental instability issues.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.