Mental Floss compiled a list of 11 Ways to Cheat While Running a Marathon. Instead of teasing it as advice we’ll call them for what they are…CHEATERS!
Here is a look at that list:
10 Biggest Marathon Cheaters/Ways to Cheat a Marathon (Full Article on Mental Floss)
- Do Not Run Most of It: Rosie Ruiz (Boston, 1980)
- Get Someone Else to Run it for You: Xiamen Students (China, 2010)
- Have Your Manager Give You a Ride: Fred Lorz (St. Louis, 1904)
- Skip Miles 13-23: Anthony Gaskell (London, 2010)
- Blow off the Checkpoints: Roberto Madrazo (Berlin, 2007)
- Grab a Bus: Rob Sloan (Kielder, 2011)
- Skip Ahead to the Part With the Prize Money: Martin Franklin (New York, 2001)
- Hop on a Bicycle: The Montreal Biker (2011)
- Hop in a News Van: Dane Patterson (Arizona, 2009)
- (and 11.) Split the Course With Your Brother (and Use PEDs): The Motsoeneng Brothers (South Africa, 1999)
Read detailed descriptions of the atrocity each runner committed to cheat a marathon at Mental Floss (LINK)!
I’d add attaching your timing/computer chip/D(B) tag to another runner’s leg or shoe to the list above.
I think we will always think of Rosie Ruiz when it comes to marathon cheating even if the sport has a 100 more cheating scandals over the next 20 years. She is like the gold standard when it comes to cheating a marathon.
Perhaps marathons across the country should all retire her bib number (W50), not out of a sign of respect, but as a reminder to how awful it is to cheat a marathon.
No, that is not Rosie and former President George W. Bush after the 1980 Boston Marathon. That is Rosie and the legit overall winner Bill Rodgers.
Pop Quiz: Who was the actual and legitimate female winner at the 1980 Boston Marathon?
The answer is Jacqueline Gareau with a time of 2:34:58.
Jackie also won the 1979 National Capital Marathon in Ottawa, Canada in 2:47:58 and the 1988 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota with a time of 2:43:27.
