Don't know if anyone watches this show. I rarely do, I was clued in by a lengthy thread on the Marathon Maniac BBS about tonight's show., I doubt that I will watch it again. The trailer at the end said the loser that was voted off, and his wife ran a sub 4 hour marathon. they showed their finisher medals and talked about how proud they were about finishing etc...... You can probably write the script. Didn't happen. they did a Rosie Ruiz for about 7-10 miles. here is the original thread by a maniac written nearly a month ago. lots of discussion followed. none disputed it. they were DQ'ed and they are not in the official results. ------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, long story short ... this race is an out and back on the shoulder of a highway. So you not only see everyone at least once, but you pretty much know where you're positioned and who's in front of and behind you. I hit the turnaround and at 13.5M saw the black team still heading towards the turnaround. They did not pass me once, yet I came upon them at mile 24. Given my awful but even splits, the only way mathematically possible for them to be there was if they'd sped up at the halfway point, passed me, and then died. Since that didn't happen, the only way they physically could be there was if they'd gotten a ride. The woman even said they'd taken a break. Another runner said he saw them get dropped off at mile 20 by a white van. When I reached the couple at 24, I did ask if they'd gotten a ride there. Dude denied it, but I said we both knew he didn't get there on his own power and that the experience of doing a marathon would mean more if 1) he actually did it 2) finished completing 26.2. The race timer confirmed they have been excluded from the race results. Based on the conversation I had with the film crew at the finish (who were there waiting with a sea of people in black t-shirts; seriously, close to 40 people were waiting) the crew was from the show. The filmer asked why I cared. I told him I cared because I've earned every medal I've gotten, sometimes on very hard days. I also said the people who were still on the course and struggling might care, too. One of their supporters offered the argument that they needed to beat the cutoff, so what should they do? Um, take a DNF like everyone else, maybe. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- and here is a blog from someone that ran the whole thing, saw them get picked up at mile 17! http://melancholysmile.blogspot.com/2009/02/we-did-it.html Not a really big deal, but some of us are proud of running (not riding) marathons. Dave

yep, did sux, and I would like to point out, the Maniac that I quoted is not a newbie maniac. she is a ten star maniac that among MANY other feets, (SP) has run 67 marathons in a year!!!

Total BS.... I would think somebody would care! Way to bust these losers! Ray

Well, I do watch the show - faithfully and I am GREATLY dissapointed. I was actually a little disturbed last night after watching the final "marathon" footage when I saw he ran it - and he beat my first (and only) marathon time by an hour! I kept thinking how is that possible - he is still a pretty large man? Granted, I'm not the fastest runner around but really??? And now I know .... Thanks for posting this Divechief. I might even go to the shows website and write a complaint.

Hey what's the big deal about steroid use in baseball? Why the hell do we care? It's just a way for the entertainment (TV) to be better. It's not wrong. It's a gray area. Yeah. Tell me about the show. Are there rules that the constestants must follow? Any? If so, then the show's management is the biggest bunch of hyppocrites. Why do they make their constestants follow any rules if they will blatantly allow/encourage that contestant to break another, more time-honored contest's rules? Who the hell do they think they are? Jack@sses.

I hope this gets more publicity. It is totally revolting that a show would feature a pair of cheaters as having accomplished something who really just faked it. Just disgusting what has happened to ethics in the broadcast industry.

I 2nd that.

wow!! i find it totally disturbing!! i also watch the show pretty faithfully and am disgusted the show would air this knowing they CHEATED!! of course we care!! who wouldn't!! i saw his "finish" time too and thought the same thing -- i'm no speedster but he finished way faster than me and they were just plodding thru the end??? thank you so much Dave for posting this!! i think i'll do the same thing Mary -- complain on the website!!

The latest updates from the blog I linked above: UPDATE: In the comments, Jerry Nairn, another racer, says the Pattersons did not volunteer the information that they had van-aided times. "They were reported to the race director and disqualified," he writes, "not that they were honest about it." UPDATE 2: NBC cancelled the weekly phoner with the "Biggest Loser" eliminee -- that would be Dane -- at the last moment. ------ jpnairn posts here from time to time.