City Coach | Coach Cane's Blog

Open Letter to a Cheater

Dear Cheater:

We all know that it's frustrating to get rejected from the lottery for a big race.  And it's no fun to have to pay so much for a race like the NYC Marathon, even if you're in the employ of a large investment banking firm (like - oh i dunno - maybe Merrill Lynch for instance.)  I'm impressed that you're such a crafty fella and have found a nice way around these little annoyances by printing your own number.  Apparently if you're handy with Photoshop, anyone can run the marathon for free.

Here's a tip.  If you plan on using this method in the future - don't print your first name on your race shirt.  Especially if it's an uncommon name.  Obsessed bandit catchers with limited social lives but seemingly endless energy when it comes to finding cheaters will spend as long as it takes to find your full name and then go through all your old results.  Upon doing so they'll notice that even when you do get into a race (like the NYC Half) legitimately, you do your magic for a friend so that she too can run the race and accept a finisher's medal for running a sold out race for free.

One other possible means of escaping detection in the future.  Try to pick a 5-digit number that doesn't sound like you're on Sesame Street.  After all, as an Ivy League grad, I'd expect that you could do better. 

Respectfully,

Jonathan

P.S. I suspect that once NYRR has their way with you, you'll be walking kinda funny. Maybe i'll post some links to photos of your glory days for old times' sake.

Cheater? You Decide.

In past years, the highest traffic for our humble blog has come the day after the marathon.  Of course some people want to hear about the accomplishments of our friends and athletes.  But if the comments and e-mails are any indication, the biggest attraction is the list of possible cheaters who cut the course but still come across the line and accept a medal.  The most common, and easiest spot in which to do this is as the runners exit the Queensboro Bridge.  There, the race course goes north, but for some, the attraction of Central Park is just too great, and they skip the trip north on 1st Avenue and through the Bronx.  Our friends at NYRR have been attentive enough to this problem to add mats every mile after the QB Bridge, which you would think would be enough to stop folks from cheating.  Well, think again.

NYRR hasn't yet published the full list of finishers (though the searchable database is alive and well.)  When you use the athlete tracker, you can see all the splits for any runner.  Just out of curiosity, I decided to check on a few of my old favorites who had apparently cut the course in the past.  One such "runner" had some suspect times a couple of years back; 3:28 half marathon, 5:03 finish, no splits between 25k and the finish.  Perhaps she's just a strong finisher with bad luck with electronic timing.  This year, she returned to our fair city in search of another finisher's medal.  Halfway through she clocked 2:24 (on pace for 4:48), and registered at every mat.  At mile 16 (the exit of the QB Bridge, she hit a 2:58 split (which means she had slowed to a projected 4:51 finish).  Then she magically stopped registering at the mats at every mile, as well as 30k and 35k, but still "finished" in 4:08, meaning that she somehow accelerated from 11 minute miles to sub-7.  So, in her last two trips to the NYC Marathon she has baffled both the D-tag and Champion Chip system, and has put up mind boggling negative splits both times. 

Is there a possible explanation other than that she cheated?  Obviously, I'm searching for one before posting her name here.  Does your opinion change (one way or the other) because she is a coach for a charitable organization?

New York City Marathon - Trying to Finish a Marathon in Fewer Miles Than Required - NYTimes.com

via www.nytimes.com

Apparently the NY Times must be reading my humble blog and all the references to cheaters.

Win Finman's Fins

Most of you probably know the tale of Finman.  For those who don't (or who haven't seen the latest details) here's the scoop.

1. At IM Florida, a racer is seen with a pair of large fins in his hands entering the water for lap 2 of the swim.
2. Said racer is identified and publicly ridiculed on Slowtwitch, this humble blog and just about everywhere else there's a triathlete who doesn't appreciate cheating.
3. Said racer has e-mails sent to those blogs that ridiculed him. The mail is purportedly from an attorney threatening legal action. No such attorney exists, but many (including this blog) remove the name of the offender.
4. Said racer is disqualified from the race and suspended for a year. Said racer is then definitively identified as Frank Cardia.
5. Frank Cardia goes public with an implausible story claiming to have found the fins in the water. Mr. Cardia says that he was trying to bring them to the attention of officials when he was seen with them. Mr. Cardia then challenges his detractors to the "Finman Challenge" - run a marathon, do IMAZ the next day, run another marathon the day after that. Of course Mr. Cardia's ability to complete his own challenge has nothing to do with whether he cheated
6. Slowtwitch explodes with comments slamming Mr. Cardia. Mr. Cardia himself turns up, using the screen name TheRealFinman.
7. Finally, something good comes of this all. Finmans fins are donated by the lifeguard who confiscated them, and are put up for auction, with the proceeds going to the Blazeman Foundation for ALS. Details from the auction are below.

Im not sure what to say about these fins! The facts: they are TYR and a very large size (43-44
~; 10 to 11; or X-L). Also made in Italy and not worn all that much. But the story behind them is a bit shady: apparently they were worn by a guy known as "Finman" in IM Florida 2008. Despite a lot of evidence (including photos) he has denied it. Its a very hot topic on the Slowtwitch Forum, where you can read some very amusing comments!  But besides all the BS, these are a very good pair of fins for anyone with feet big enough.

Dude, Where's My Ocean?

Jesse: Have you seen my car?
Christie Boner: Yeah.
Jesse: You have?
Christie Boner: Well, I saw the backseat.
Jesse: No, I'm talking about the whole thing.

A couple of months ago, I read a story about a woman who claimed to have completed a swim across the Atlantic.  AP was all over the story of 56 year old Jennifer Figge. "During her taxing journey, Figge had to battle waves of up to 30 feet and strong winds, and the inclement weather forced her to veer 1,000 miles off course; she originally was supposed to swim to the Bahamas. Her longest time in the water was about eight hours."  Ms. Figge was accompanied by a boat and surrounded by a cage to protect her from sharks, and she wore a wetsuit. 

Here's the problem.  Her boat traveled 2,100 miles.  She now admits that she only swam about 250 miles, and there were entire days when she didn't exit the boat.  She also now says that she never planned to do the whole thing, but here's a note from Hal Higdon (yes - the Hal Higdon) who is the father of her publicist, that was published before the event.  "So, you think running a little old 26 miles and 385 yards is an accomplishment? Well, yes it is, but consider Jennifer Figge, who later this year will attempt to become the first woman and the first American to swim across the Atlantic Ocean, from Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa to Barbados. "  And here's the NY Times story. "Figge plans to swim 2,100 miles, from the Cape Verde Islands off Africa to Barbados. She will do it in a shark cage attached to a sailboat, swimming for six to eight hours a day without rest. The journey will take about two months and, if successful, will make her the first woman on record to swim across the Atlantic."

The shame is that the woman is clearly a talented and dedicated athlete.  Had she not engaged in hyperbole, we'd be lauding her accomplishments.  After all, I'm not about to swim 250 miles in a month.  Instead, she embarassed herself, and all the press outlets who initially published the story without recognizing that no one can swim 70 miles a day for a month.

The Biggest Liar

It's unfortunate that our boy Terry is under the weather, but it does leave him time to spend on his reality TV.  He was kind enough to bring this story to our attention.

It seems that the good folks at NBC's The Biggest Loser have engaged in some creative editing.  Contestant Dane, who lost 100 pounds in just eight weeks before being eliminated from the weight-loss competition, is seen running a marathon alongside his svelte and aerodynamic wife, and seen triumphantly crossing the finish line. 

The minor technicality is that the dude didn't do the whole 26.2, which sticklers seem to like in a marathon finisher.

Here's the statement issued by one of the show's producers:

As the Executive Producers of The Biggest Loser we would like to make an official apology and set the record straight with regards to the claim in last nights episode that Dane completed a marathon in Arizona.

After seeing on various online blogs that this information may be inaccurate we investigated the claim and found that Dane had not indeed completed the marathon unaided. From our internal investigation we learned that Dane ran the first 17 miles before receiving a ride from the field producer for 3 miles before rejoining the race at the 20 mile mark whereupon he completed the race.

We are incredibly proud of Dane for running 23 miles and losing over 130 lbs on his weight loss journey so far and wish him luck as he continues his new healthy lifestyle. We have also taken the necessary action to ensure that there is no future misrepresentations and sincerely apologize for misleading our loyal viewers and it was certainly not our intent but an unwitting mistake.

We hope they will continue to be inspired and motivated by all of our contestants and follow them as they continue to change their lives.

It's a shame, because big fella clearly worked incredibly hard to accomplish the weight loss.  Unfortunately, this - rather than his tremendous accomplishment - is what folks are gonna remember.

It seems that the good folks at NBC's The Biggest Loser have engaged in some creative editing.  Contestant Dane, who lost 100 pounds in just eight weeks before being eliminated from the weight-loss competition, is seen running a marathon alongside his svelte and aerodynamic wife, and seen triumphantly crossing the finish line. 

The minor technicality is that the dude didn't do the whole 26.2, which sticklers seem to like in a marathon finisher.

Here's the statement issued by one of the show's producers:

As the Executive Producers of The Biggest Loser we would like to make an official apology and set the record straight with regards to the claim in last nights episode that Dane completed a marathon in Arizona.

After seeing on various online blogs that this information may be inaccurate we investigated the claim and found that Dane had not indeed completed the marathon unaided. From our internal investigation we learned that Dane ran the first 17 miles before receiving a ride from the field producer for 3 miles before rejoining the race at the 20 mile mark whereupon he completed the race.

We are incredibly proud of Dane for running 23 miles and losing over 130 lbs on his weight loss journey so far and wish him luck as he continues his new healthy lifestyle. We have also taken the necessary action to ensure that there is no future misrepresentations and sincerely apologize for misleading our loyal viewers and it was certainly not our intent but an unwitting mistake.

We hope they will continue to be inspired and motivated by all of our contestants and follow them as they continue to change their lives.

It's a shame, because big fella clearly worked incredibly hard to accomplish the weight loss.  Unfortunately, this - rather than his tremendous accomplishment - is what folks are gonna remember.

Is It Still Cheating?

Last week, our friend and frequent blog commenter Yan sent us a tip about a woman who ostensibly completed the marathon in 5:20+.  Seems that this woman didn't trigger a timing mat until the finish, and she only showed up in one Brightroom photo before the finish.  In said photo she was clearly walking.   Last year she registered at all the mats until the midway point, and then disappeared until the finish in 7+ hours.  The fastest half marathon time we could find for her is 3:30+, which makes the 5:20 all the more implausible.

So here's the question - if this woman did not complete 26.2 miles, is it less offensive because her times were modest?  Would it matter if she was a cancer survivor or raising money for charity?  Are others as offended by such matters as I am, or should I worry more about myself and our athletes, and not care if others cut corners?  Also, aside from cheating, is there another possible explanation for her quirky results? 

Personally, I don't care what her story is, how much of a challenge it is to do part of a marathon, or anything else.  Zoe Koplowitz takes over a day to do the marathon.  Lots of other people stay out and suffer for however many hours it takes to complete the full course.  If this woman didn't cover 26.2 miles on foot, I have as much disdain for her as for anyone else who shortens the course.  I think anyone who cheats does a disservice to everyone who completes the race and does the best they can.  Clearly there's no way to stop all cheaters, and what someone else does has no direct impact on someone else's race, but I find it disrespectful.  Right is right, and wrong is wrong.  Based on the input I've gotten from people I respect, it seems that I may be in the minority.

Another Anti-Cheater

At our year-end party, we awarded our own Jeannine Bardo with the Anti-Rosie Ruiz prize for doing four laps instead of three during the Flat as a Pancake Tri.  It seems that Jeannine would have had some competition if golfer J.P. Hayes had gone into triathlon.  Here's the AP story:

Wisconsin native J.P. Hayes disqualified himself from the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament for inadvertently using a golf ball that isn't on the list approved for competition.

It's not uncommon for PGA Tour members to call penalties on themselves in a sport that's self-policed. For Hayes, 43, it's particularly tough because it makes him ineligible to play full time on the PGA Tour in 2009.

During last Wednesday's qualifying, Hayes' caddie pulled a ball out of his golf bag and flipped it to him. After two shots he realized it wasn't the same one he had started his round with and took a two-shot penalty.

Later while relaxing in his hotel room, he realized it was not a legal ball and he reported it leading to his disqualification.

Considering all the recent talk about the rampant drafting at IMFL, as well as the more blatant examples of cheating, it's nice to see someone playing by the rules.

Finman Part 2

 I recently posted an entry about "Finman", who apparently tried to use SCUBA fins at Ironman Florida. There was widespread speculation as to Finman's real identity, but since his name was still on the official finisher's list (and I was getting notes from people claiming to be lawyers even though the Bar Association never heard of them), I chose to pull his name from my entry.  

Today Frank Cardia's name was added to the DQ list for IM Florida.

New Cheaters' Hall of Fame Nominee - Finman

At last week's NYC Marathon, our friends at NYRR employed mats at every mile from the Queensboro Bridge to the finish, therefore all but eliminating the opportunity to cut the course without it being obvious.  Of course this spoiled my fun, since there are few things that I enjoy more than sifting through 35,000 runners' results and pointing the accusing finger of blame at those who take the short way home.  Thankfully, my disappointment has been replaced with glee, as it seems that a short 24-hours before NY, there was an instantly legendary case of cheating at Ironman Florida. 

The gentleman pictured to the left (in a photo from the Slowtwitch message board) apparently attempted to bring SCUBA fins into the water at the beginning of the swim.  Discussion about this racer has overwhelmed Slowtwitch (which has shut down the thread) and other message boards.  Until we're 100% sure of the story behind this, and the identity of Finman, we'll not identify him by name.