BAA only half right - lower times encourage competition, but more cheating too
“The numbers seem to represent a swing back to competitiveness that I think is important to people. A great many people seem to have worked a little harder to get a little faster†- Tom Grik, BAA Executive Director, on this year’s 2:28 qualifying cutoff
Let’s face it, most of the runners on LRC are at the front of the pack, and are not going to ever have to worry about whether they made their Boston Marathon qualifying time by a wide enough margin. In fact, even mentioning the term “Boston Qualifier†will get one vilified on these message boards. But for some of us, even getting close to these qualifying standards is a result of a year, or years, of hard work, constant planning, and meticulous preparation. Juggling schedules, family, injuries, training – I mean, running literally takes over. In that respect, Grik’s words ring true to many of us who have withstood “the trial of miles; miles of trialsâ€. I have to work harder to run faster, and squeeze everything I can out of my minimal talent, just in the hopes of beating the qualifying standard by enough to gain entry into the world’s most famous marathon.
However, there are runners out there who are not working harder, and who are not getting faster. They are the other runners that I am competing against, those who I outwork, out-plan, and out-prepare. They don’t juggle schedules, family, injuries or training, at least not the extent that I, and thousands of others, do. So why do they get to run the Boston Marathon and we don’t? The answer is simple – they cheat. Kendall Schler, Tabitha Hamilton, Gregory Price, and of course, Mike Rossi. You all know the names. And who knows how many hundreds, or even thousands, others. If over 500,000 people completed a marathon last year, and just 2% knowingly cheated, that would mean there are still over 10,000 people who intentionally cheated during a marathon, a frustratingly large figure. It is this wall of scourge that many of us are fighting against, and I believe it is growing, and will continue to grow, making a Boston qualifier even harder to achieve going forward.
These people have no conscience either. Schler removed the timing chip from her bib so as to not get caught cutting the course’s timing mats. Hamilton ran her first half in 2:00 and her second half in 0:55, figuring nobody would catch the fact that 0:55 would have been a world record half marathon time for a female. Price cheated multiple years in a row at the same part of the same course, running world record paces for his age group during certain portions. And Rossi brashly chastised his kids’ school for not letting them skip class to see him run Boston, after cheating to get into Boston in the first place. Clearly, the increasingly brazen nature of the cheating shows that this class of runner is not afraid of any punishment that could be handed down, let alone about getting caught in the first place. The bottom line is that, surrounded by thousands of other runners, the chances of being caught are slim, and in addition, many race directors don’t care. Bart Yasso did almost nothing to pursue the complaints against Rossi despite a mound of evidence and a groundswell of negative publicity. Throw in the ever-growing desire for recognition via social media, and I do believe the perfect storm has arrived for certain runners to do more than ever to cheat their way into Boston. Make no mistake, the number of marathon cheaters is going up, and not down.
In the end, perhaps it is actually naïve to think that Boston’s declining qualifying times are purely a result of increased competition. After all, it will soon become impossible to turn a blind eye to this slimy tidal wave of cheaters that are washing over our sport, a portion of which cheat with the specific intent to get into Boston. Cheaters do not deserve to stand at Hopkinton, struggle up Heartbreak, or swerve onto Hereford. They are not worthy to stand with Rodgers, Gibb, and DeMar. That they do is an injustice to those who HAVE tried a little harder, and HAVE become a little faster, and have done it the right way. For these are the people that have actually earned it.
I implore you, BAA - let’s put an end to it. If 2015 was the year of the marathon cheater, let’s make 2016 the year the good guys take it back. From now on, we search for, find, and punish/ban all cheaters and stamp out this virus from our sport once and for all. Otherwise, you will allow it to continue to spiral out of control, and slowly eat away at the integrity of the sport. Schler, Hamilton, Price, Rossi, and possibly thousand of others - these people do not belong in the Boston Marathon, which, at one time, was one of the purest competitions on the planet.
Let's get back to how it used to be.
Yours in Running,
Easy Writer