The Biggest ... Liar?? (Page 3)

So what we're saying is that you can run or walk a marathon, but you cannot drive it.

I agree with this. It also says a lot about NBC's character (or whatever) to knowingly pass off the cheating like it wasn't a big deal. What kind of message does that send?

They could have handled it in a lot of different ways, but they chose not to.

As I already mentioned in my earlier post.  People cheat all the time, regular joes and olympic atheltes.  Seriously.  How many people "cheat" in a marathon?  I'd venture to say there are at least a few people in each of the larger ones.  People take the subway, people catch a cab, others give their bibs to faster people so their name shows up as running faster and they get their BQ, etc.  And not a SINGLE thing has an affect on your race or the sport.

It really does sadden me that THIS COMMUNITY AND OTHER RUNNERS AND TRIATHLETES have dragged this guy and his wife through the mud because they made a poor judgement and got caught in a lie.  I see this as a totally different thing then when the lady said she swam the Atlantic and had her PR people getting that out all over the world.  This is a case of bad judgement and a push by a television network for ratings.

Bad form BT ........ bad form ........

So everyone is supposed to just look the other way when people lie and cheat? Think about what kind of world we'd live in if that happened all the time.

Off topic, but they busted a lady cheating at our local marathon  this year.  I wish I could have been at the finish area to witness the scence.  But I was 2 miles down the road calling out splits.

So like Rick said it happens all the time.

X3. Just consider Floyd Landis and the TdF. I was disappointed, yes, but far from outraged.

Not at all!  But it should be with something that counts, not someone's fake finishing time at a local foot race done for fun.

Hmmm, $3 trillion in bailouts full of pork and agendas, basically all corrupt politicians at both the national and state levels, crumbling economies.  Man, that would suck!!

I think the point is that to a lot of people it DOES count. Not really fair for someone to assign (or judge ) what "counts" to one person over another.

I agree. I'm not crushing him, or trying to drag him in the mud. I applaud him for trying. I applaud him for stepping up and competing in such a daunting task.

I do however think it's NBC who dropped the ball and should be apologizing. It's their fault. Their lack of preparation is the reason this whole thing blew up. Not his.

Who said reality TV had to be real?

Is not okay to judge, unless you are judging the judgers!

funny how that works

Here's the thing...what's cheating?

I could care less about golf except for occasional fun.  Anybody that plays with me knows it's gonna be a loose and joking kinda day.  I'll move my ball within reason to obtain a better lie, etc.  Why?  Because I'm out there for fun and could really care less about the intricate details, or my score for that matter.  Avid golfers would consider me a cheater.

Apply that attitude to Dane.  Quite possibly his first running event ever.  I think his story about the producers hounding him to get the shot on time is entirely believable, and he had no idea the outrage this kinda thing would cause.  I think he's been contrite, and now has a better understanding of these things.

Given those very plausible assumptions, I don't thing we're "tolerating cheating" by giving the guy a pass here.  He didn't get a medal, he's off the books, etc.  

(It is amazing to me that not ONE PERSON on the editing staff is into this enough to realize that a <4 time on a clock is going to raise some eyebrows. )

Have to say this: You would not move your ball in a tournament would you? It is one thing to goof around with the guys, or out on a sunday jog, but when you are competiting in a race or event with rules, you have to go by the rules, so I am not sure your example works, IMHO.

Although I think we might have fun playing golf together!

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree.  Nobody put a gun to Dane's head, forced him on the TBL show, forced him into the van, nor forced him to accept the finisher's medal.  This is a guy who chose to cheat knowing it would air on television.  He got caught, he gets what he deserves.

Au contraire, I think the bad form is on anyone who condones or rationalizes this clown's rather public cheating.

Then again, my judgment may be biased having just run an automobile-free marathon this Sunday in the rain.

I'll let this go after this..

Is it really bad form to call out a cheater someone who misrepresents their accomplishments? He would not have been "dragged through the mud" if he (and the show) were upfront.  Would anyone have made any comments had they said he competed in his first marathon? Or that he atempted his first? I'll agree that the producers probably urged him on to get their filming done, but he is the one who said he ran the marathon. I do applaud him for the attempt.

Yea, I know, my analogy isn't perfect.  Kinda like my golf game.   

Did every online running/triathlon community make a point of outing the person that Bama DC mentioned got caught cheating in the marathon?

I do not condone the couples decisions or actions at all.  What they did was stupid, and they got caught in it.  As I mentioned before, did they NOT think it was going to be all over the internet once it was found out?  Just look at Finman from IMFL this past year.  He got absolutely ROASTED after that debacle.

But seriously, why in the world has the tri/running community got their panties in such a wad over this??  Are they really surprised that television misrepresents the truth for rating's sake???  Or is it that many people seem to be taking it as a very personal attack based on the fact that NBC portrayed this big guy setting a time that some see as a monumental accomplishment?  How many people here can say that they have even run 17 miles (or 23 if that is what actually happened)?

I really don't get it, and it is not at all the way this community typically acts.  I could be wrong, but this extreme judgement of the couple just doesn't make sense to me.  And again, what affect does this have on someone else's life in the running/tri community?

Absolutely none .........

I guess you don't see the community act this way very often, because the vast majority of us don't cheat.  I'm sure there are some on BT who have cheated in the past, and that's their choice, and they can live with those choices.  But for the rest of us we choose to participate honestly.  Finman didn't, Dane didn't - shame on them, and there's no shame on anyone at BT (or elsewhere) for being upset with cheaters.

You want to know the REALLY sad thing I find in all of this?

His half-marathon split was still faster than any of my 3 halfs so far. 

Sigh.