Marathon Weekend 2019

[Nole95]

Marathon Investigation is usually pretty thorough. He is not one to jump to conclusions or post anything unless he is really certain that some kind of cheating occured.

Interestingly enough, the last person mentioned in that article came to the Team #RunDisney Facebook page the day before the marathon saying how she was worried about running the full. She had only signed up and trained for a 5K, had never run anything more than a 5K. She then signed up for the 10K, and potentially Goofy at the Expo. She was also running for Team Taps.

During the course of the marathon, everyone on this page was following her. She posted pictures of various mile markers as she got to them. As soon as I saw her miss the 20 mile mat and post a picture of the mile 22 marker, I knew something was up. My suspicions were heightened when she ran the back half a lot faster than the first half with no indications she stopped for any characters.

I did not think much about it at the time, but then this article came out yesterday. It soon appeared on Team #RunDisney and people were off to the races. Based on her start time and when she hit the 13.1 mat, people were able to figure out that she ran the 8.9 miles from Mile 13.1 to Mile 22 in about a 10 min/mile pace. Way faster than she had done at any race over the weekend and almost impossible on the back half of a marathon that you had not trained for.

People also questioned how she was in corral B with no proof of time, leading some to think she doctored her bib. And then she somehow got a Dopey medal despite being only registered for Goofy.

In most instances, these things would not bother me, but in this case it did. Assuming she did cut the course and claim something she didn't do, she dishonored the charity she was running for. We then have the safety issue where others were initially so impressed that she completed Dopey with no training that they thought they could do it as well. I would never recommened anyone attempt Dopey unless they were properly trained. Finally, don't show up on a Facebook page asking for advice and preying on people's emotions. Ironically enough, most times, the people that Marathon Investigation catches cheating are ones the doom themselves with their social media posts before, during or after races.

 

[ANIM8R]

You know that tiny out-and-back near the end of the Half right before Epcot? I saw a guy cut that at the beginning of the cones this year. Minor, yes, but...seriously? Saved a whole tenth of a mile maybe?

I'm guessing that, if he cut that portion, that probably wasn't the only cutting/cheating that gut did during the weekend.

SMH

 

[cavepig]

It's unfortunate that people lie or cheat, when these races should just be about your personal victories not fake glam to post about. I find it fascinating when people post or talk that are clearly exaggerating their accomplishments, it's sad really. A lady next to me for the marathon basically hinted how she got into corral B without actually herself running the time to get into it herself. Another lady before the half I was confused as she had a Goofy bib with a sticker to move to corral B, but said she last chanced registered for Dopey and they ran out of bibs?!?! I don't know why she had to tell us this, seemed weird they would run out of bibs knowing exactly what they had left to sell. I wonder if she got a Dopey medal or not without a Dopey bib I guess. People do strange things, but like why post/talk about them.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Doesn’t surprise me in the least that there’s a lot of cheating in Disney races. There is ample opportunity in the Marathon to completely cut the out and back before AK and the entire WWOS area. Other competitors can’t really do anything about it and it doesn’t do rD any good to fight it. The initial family in that article is a perfect example. Those are registration fees for rD; what good would it do them to chase those “runners” away?

Anyway, even though I’m sure it happens I will never understand the mentality of those who do things like this. I’ve been very disappointed with myself for being underprepared and undertrained the last couple years; but even though my times have been awful and I haven’t been able to enjoy my Marathon as much as I’d like, I’d never consider taking credit for finishing if I hadn’t covered every inch of the course. I even feel guilty if I cut the inside of a cone where the course is narrow to help everyone avoid a logjam. I can’t imagine how empty the “accomplishment” would feel if I were cutting literal miles off the course.

 

[ckb_nc]

The flip side of that is we have no idea if Marathon Investigation is right. There are problems with two of the examples they used for Disney. They said James missed both starts and looking at the results that’s possible. Disney doesn’t give the start time so not sure how they know that other than he “missed” the first mat in both races. For the marathon he actually didn’t even register a mat until the 20 mile mark. Yet the photo they used for him was exiting AK which is before mile 15, so how does one explain that?

The other example is purely anecdotal. He has no proof other than some people saw a lady run on the course and she wasn’t sweating. Lot of things could have happened there that aren’t cheating. Or she could have been cheating. No way to know. I’ve always read those and just kind of assumed they got it right but this article was a bit sketchy.

The lady for a we know could used the bathroom in the hotel lobby - did not see her time. Some of the data looks correct and the course makes it easy to skip sections like ESPN. But why do it?

 

[Nole95]

The lady for a we know could used the bathroom in the hotel lobby - did not see her time. Some of the data looks correct and the course makes it easy to skip sections like ESPN. But why do it?

Marathon Investigation page lists the potential person as Donna. Decided to take a look at the results. Sure enough, there is a Donna listed that hit 0 timing mats, but shows a finish time of 4:10. Wonder if this is one and the same.

As for James, his marathon thing is fairly simple. As mentioned, he did not hit a mat until mile 20. That alone is proof enough for me that he was not on that course at the start. No way ALL those mats did not register, and then it suddenly worked at mile 20. Last mat before mile 20 is at 13.1. Easy enough to jump on the course right there at the AK exit and run the rest of the marathon.

He may have legit ran the half, but it's possible he could have jumped on the course at the TTC right after the 5K mat.

 

[ywgckp]

I run for personal validation so cutting the course just doesn't make any sense to me. Although I guess if your goal is to impress people on Facebook and not feel good about yourself...

I'm not exactly sure how you could cut the course without it being incredibly obvious to everyone around you. There's steady traffic both on Western Way and WWOS. I guess pull over to the side for a bit and fake an injury or bathroom break?

 

[hotblooded]

Ironically enough, most times, the people that Marathon Investigation catches cheating are ones the doom themselves with their social media posts before, during or after races.

That’s why cheaters fascinate me. It’s such a cry for attention that they really can’t help themselves. It’s not enough to get away with it privately; they have to proclaim their every move for the public to see and applaud them for, and eventually tear them apart.

 

[Nole95]

I run for personal validation so cutting the course just doesn't make any sense to me. Although I guess if your goal is to impress people on Facebook and not feel good about yourself...

I'm not exactly sure how you could cut the course without it being incredibly obvious to everyone around you. There's steady traffic both on Western Way and WWOS. I guess pull over to the side for a bit and fake an injury or bathroom break?

From what I have read that people witnessed, some runners would jump into a bathroom there before WWOS. When they exited they would just jump in with the crowd going the other way. Not the first time I have seen this reported.

 

[croach]

Marathon Investigation page lists the potential person as Donna. Decided to take a look at the results. Sure enough, there is a Donna listed that hit 0 timing mats, but shows a finish time of 4:10. Wonder if this is one and the same.

As for James, his marathon thing is fairly simple. As mentioned, he did not hit a mat until mile 20. That alone is proof enough for me that he was not on that course at the start. No way ALL those mats did not register, and then it suddenly worked at mile 20. Last mat before mile 20 is at 13.1. Easy enough to jump on the course right there at the AK exit and run the rest of the marathon.

He may have legit ran the half, but it's possible he could have jumped on the course at the TTC right after the 5K mat.

Yeah you’re right on James. I had in my mind the mat was at 15 miles which meant he would have to have crossed it after the Gravediggers photo. He also had no character photos prior to that stop but lots after. So take that as you will.

 

[Barca33Runner]

I run for personal validation so cutting the course just doesn't make any sense to me. Although I guess if your goal is to impress people on Facebook and not feel good about yourself...

I'm not exactly sure how you could cut the course without it being incredibly obvious to everyone around you. There's steady traffic both on Western Way and WWOS. I guess pull over to the side for a bit and fake an injury or bathroom break?

From what I have read that people witnessed, some runners would jump into a bathroom there before WWOS. When they exited they would just jump in with the crowd going the other way. Not the first time I have seen this reported.

I’m sure there are all types of shady ways that people try to conceal what they are doing, but I think it ultimately comes down to the fact there’s nothing anyone can really do about it. Do you want to ruin your race by chasing down/pointing out a cheater when nothing is likely to come of it? They clearly have no shame about their actions and races are not going to be particularly interested in fighting the results unless it is someone who claims a race or age group win/place. Qualifying times for other races aren’t even the problem of the particular race where the cheating occurred.

With rD it is even less likely to result in anything positive. As far as I know they still give finisher medals to those that are swept and desire to get the medal; so what’s the difference between that and giving medals to people who cross the finish line of a shortened course for rD?

ETA: I guess my main point is that to rD you’ve bought the medals when you’ve paid your registration. Whether you earn them on race day or just pick them up is up to every runner.

 

[Bree]

Marathon Investigation is usually pretty thorough. He is not one to jump to conclusions or post anything unless he is really certain that some kind of cheating occured.

Interestingly enough, the last person mentioned in that article came to the Team #RunDisney Facebook page the day before the marathon saying how she was worried about running the full. She had only signed up and trained for a 5K, had never run anything more than a 5K. She then signed up for the 10K, and potentially Goofy at the Expo. She was also running for Team Taps.

During the course of the marathon, everyone on this page was following her. She posted pictures of various mile markers as she got to them. As soon as I saw her miss the 20 mile mat and post a picture of the mile 22 marker, I knew something was up. My suspicions were heightened when she ran the back half a lot faster than the first half with no indications she stopped for any characters.

I did not think much about it at the time, but then this article came out yesterday. It soon appeared on Team #RunDisney and people were off to the races. Based on her start time and when she hit the 13.1 mat, people were able to figure out that she ran the 8.9 miles from Mile 13.1 to Mile 22 in about a 10 min/mile pace. Way faster than she had done at any race over the weekend and almost impossible on the back half of a marathon that you had not trained for.

People also questioned how she was in corral B with no proof of time, leading some to think she doctored her bib. And then she somehow got a Dopey medal despite being only registered for Goofy.

In most instances, these things would not bother me, but in this case it did. Assuming she did cut the course and claim something she didn't do, she dishonored the charity she was running for. We then have the safety issue where others were initially so impressed that she completed Dopey with no training that they thought they could do it as well. I would never recommened anyone attempt Dopey unless they were properly trained. Finally, don't show up on a Facebook page asking for advice and preying on people's emotions. Ironically enough, most times, the people that Marathon Investigation catches cheating are ones the doom themselves with their social media posts before, during or after races.

Did you see the close up of her bib? It looks like she used white out to change it from corral F to B.

 

[Nole95]

Did you see the close up of her bib? It looks like she used white out to change it from corral F to B.

According to her Goofy bib, she would have been in E. In the pictures I saw, that had magically changed to B. Had not heard about using the White Out, but it now makes perfect sense. Easy enough to change an E to a B, and the corral checkers are just making quick checks as you walk by. They would not have been scrutinizing to see if someone made that kind of change.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I never thought to use white out - I’ve seen people with duplicate bibs before but. It that

 

[Bree]

According to her Goofy bib, she would have been in E. In the pictures I saw, that had magically changed to B. Had not heard about using the White Out, but it now makes perfect sense. Easy enough to change an E to a B, and the corral checkers are just making quick checks as you walk by. They would not have been scrutinizing to see if someone made that kind of change.

How did she get into E which is a non-POT corral without training for more than a 5K?

 

[Nole95]

How did she get into E which is a non-POT corral without training for more than a 5K?

A very good question. One of many surrounding the circumstances of this particular runner.

 

[Ariel484]

I feel like they need to use QR codes or something at the corral entrances to really enforce placement. Can't see them ever bothering to do it though, and I'm sure people who are super determined to corral jump will figure out a way to make it happen anyway.

 

[Ponoche]

Just read the marathon investigation piece, I couldn't imagine cheating. What i really didn't like though, was in the first picture of the mom and son I'm the guy in the green shorts behind them.

 

[FFigawi]

I feel like they need to use QR codes or something at the corral entrances to really enforce placement. Can't see them ever bothering to do it though, and I'm sure people who are super determined to corral jump will figure out a way to make it happen anyway.

Sadly, you're right. rD only pays lip service to caring about things like corral jumpers, course cutters, and others whose ethics seem to be in short supply. If only these people put as much time and effort into training as they do into cheating.

 

[Sleepless Knight]

I find it fascinating when people post or talk that are clearly exaggerating their accomplishments, it's sad really.

Very true. At the end of the day, cheaters might have a medal, they might have people who think they did it, but what they do not have is the experience. They literally do not know what it feels like to fight through the challenges of training and the challenges that always come on race day. They have no concept of what it feels like to overcome all of that. They have only cheated themselves. Because even if they're never caught, the very issues that led them to cut the course and/or pretend to finish a race that they didn't truly finish are still with them. Running does not make one invincible, but it has certainly taught me a lot about how to endure challenges in life. And I never would have learned those things through cutting a course short.

I run for personal validation so cutting the course just doesn't make any sense to me. Although I guess if your goal is to impress people on Facebook and not feel good about yourself...

The irony here is that a week and a half after finishing the marathon, I'm mostly the same person I was before. I have some newly earned experience about facing and overcoming challenges that I hope to apply to other areas of my life, but the marathon did not magically transform me into a better person than I was before. So those who cheated achieved nothing. At some point, they wil =l

I have heard of people who talk about how running saved their lives. For some it became a time to work through their challenges and clear their mind. For others it literally improved their health and lifestyle. The only way to receive those benefits from running is to run and overcome.