Run It Fast®

Tabatha Hamilton was the female winner of the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon on Saturday finishing in 2:55:39 seconds. A very fast time for a female finisher of any marathon. And even more impressive is the way she closed in posting one of the biggest negative splits in marathon history by running the last 13.1 miles in 49 minutes, after she had, in comparison, slowly ran the first half in 2 hours 6 minutes and 51 seconds.

Red flags were flown immediately upon analysis of the numbers and the race officials of the race disqualified Hamilton for finishing too fast aka cheating.

Race officials determined that it was impossible for Hamilton to cover the last half of the marathon in 49 minutes after finishing the first 13.1 miles in 2:06:51, according to the Chattanooga Track Club.

The 31-year-old Trenton, Ga., resident told at least one person, when asked if she did the full marathon, that she ran all 26.2 miles, crossed the final timing mat at 2 hours, 55 minutes, 39 seconds.

She was removed from the official results Sunday night.

Contacted early this afternoon, Hamilton told the Times Free Press that no one had told her she had been disqualified, and she insisted again that she completed the full marathon. She disputed the reported time for her first 13.1 miles, saying that her husband was looking at his watch as she ran by and called out to her then that she was at 1:36:51. [Chattanooga Times Free Press

Nashville’s Lillian Gilmer, from Nashville, finished a distance second in 3:21:28 to Hamilton but having actually ran all 26.2 miles. Gilmer has now been named the rightful winner of the 2014 Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon. Congratulations to Lillian!

More and more stories of cheating are starting to pop up at marathons and ultramarathons across the country. There is also probably a good bit of doping going on as well by those looking for a competitive edge to be the king or queen of the amateurs.

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)

1. Do Not Run Most of It: Rosie Ruiz (Boston, 1980)
2. Get Someone Else to Run it for You: Xiamen Students (China, 2010)
3. Have Your Manager Give You a Ride: Fred Lorz (St. Louis, 1904)
4. Skip Miles 13-23: Anthony Gaskell (London, 2010)
5. Blow off the Checkpoints: Roberto Madrazo (Berlin, 2007)
6. Grab a Bus: Rob Sloan (Kielder, 2011)
7. Skip Ahead to the Part With the Prize Money: Martin Franklin (New York, 2001)
8. Hop on a Bicycle: The Montreal Biker (2011)
9. Hop in a News Van: Dane Patterson (Arizona, 2009)
10. (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.

Runner/bus rider Rob Sloan has admitted to cheating at the Kielder Marathon after falsely finishing in third place. His bronze finished had since been stripped, and Sloan has admitted to cheating the course.

Sunderland Harrier Rob Sloan, 31, disembarked just before the end of the Kielder Marathon and emerged from a wooded section of the course to rejoin the race and pick up the bronze medal.

But the runner, who just 24 hours earlier had won a 10K race, was spotted by a number of witnesses, and organisers were left with no alternative but to disqualify him after Sunday’s event.

Sloan decided to drop at mile 20, hopped on the bus, then got off the bus to finish the last part of the race, finishing in 3rd place.

“Rob Sloan of Sunderland Harriers had apparently made the decision to withdraw from the race at approximately 20 miles due to fatigue and after returning to the Leaplish Park area he decided to run the closing section of the course and crossed the finish line in third place.

The third place award was rightfully given to Steven Cairns after Sloan’s cheating was confirmed.

The Kielder Marathon takes place in England (website).

[hat tip to Chuck ‘Marathonjunkie’ Engle]