I went to a 5K/Half Marathon event today to cheer on my team members. I had briefly considered running the 5K but my legs are pretty worn out and there isn’t much point in paying $30 to have a non PR 5K so I restricted my activities to cheerleading which was fine.
The thing that happened today that was baffling is that a woman tried to cheat – big time.
When the first 1/2 Marathon runners started coming in the race director came over and said he was having a race director’s worst nightmare. A group of women had reported that they saw a woman jump on to the course at about mile 8 – in front of all the other women running. He wanted some of the first women from our team to let him know if they saw it, too.
One woman thought she had but another had said that she was pretty sure everyone in front of her had been at the start. Long story short, the woman who really did win also saw the cheater jump in and there was some other confirmation and that was that – DQ’d.
It’s one thing to jump in to get a better time – a weird thing and not one that would satisfy me but not the same thing as jumping in the race for the overall women’s win!! What must someone’s ethics be to try a stunt like that? Trust me when I tell you everyone was hoping she had jumped off the course to puke or take a pee or something but that just wasn’t the case – she was going for someone else’s glory. Ick.
21st-century-mom.com 
That.
Is.
Low.
Bad news.
I guess Rosie Ruiz happened long enough ago now that people don’t remember it. What a moron. Glad she got nailed!
Sounds kind of disturbed–was there a cash prize? Other than dire financial necessity, which would still not be anywhere near a legitimate rationale, it just seems pathological. Glad she was easily caught.
I blame Katie Holmes
What an idiot.
that’s just dumb. people do it, but it’s dumb.
okay, first of all. don’t post stuff like this when i’m supposed to be in the library reading and writing, but no rithmaticking.
you are a temptress.
didn’t a woman do that for the nyc marathon? oh yeah, donald mentioned it. rosie ruiz. very blatant. with no thought about how obvious it’d be. man. why do people cheat? they do all the time. why, it’s almost april 14th. cheating season has started.
now, before i sound too pompous, i must admit that if i could get away with it, i’d cheat on my diet daily. oh, and would hire a clone to do time trials for me. THAT’S because i don’t like mornings. nuttin about ethics.
It’s another Rosie!
That’s just weird. Of course people would see her, so what was she thinking? There must be more to the story. Either that, or she’s just mental.
Good grief. Sometimes, you really do wonder, don’t you?
I don’t think it’s ethics that keeps me from doing that, though i wish i could say it was. It’s just: What is the point???
I don’t get it. and jumping in at mile 8?? so she ran a 1/2 mary in what, 40 min or so?
yeah, that’s believable.
people..idiots…
I totally don’t get it. I know it happens, but can’t understand it at all. I’m not putting these two things on the same level (not even close). But, I understand cheating in a race about as much as I understand murder. It’s completely lost on me.
I know I sound hopeless naive asking this, but what is the point? How can anyone feel like they really placed if they didn’t even run the whole course?
I’ve seen this happen a lot when someone who isn’t running decides to pace a friend towards the end and enters the race with a number but no shoe chip. They are officially called bandits, but the practice is all too common. Not saying this is the case here, but it could explain the brazen move. Most true cheaters try to be coy about it.
I bet she spent a lot of time in the principals office when she was in school.