Thread killer ..
Oh and for the races listed, he most likely cheated them all but I doubt any RDs were notified.
That could very well be . We may never know .
I just got an email for a race I'm doing next month with new safe guards in place because of recent cheating . A timed race I did last month had triple timing . It makes me feel better about spending my money with those races .
Tim
I would like to know which races knew he was cheating ( other than Vermont ) and did nothing . I want to make sure they never get any of my money . Enabling cheaters while taking money from honest runners , I can't even put into words how shitty that is .
From what I've read and heard, it looks like it was a "he-said" vs. "he-said", kind of thing, and it only got as far as the RD's a few times, and at different events. The individual RD's were not aware of any pattern, so went with Kelly's version/excuse/lies. He was so ingrained with the races and knew many of the RD's personally, that it looks like he got the benefit of the doubt. Then, since nothing was done, other RD's didn't know about prior suspicions, so there were no Red Flags. Some of the runners who said they were suspicious have posted online that the wish they had told RD's about their concerns, so it looks like they kept it to themselves.
I'm with you, I'd hate to think they knew and did nothing, but it looks like they are more than likely just guilty of being conned.
As a positive outcome, this episode now has RD's talking more about what should and can be done to make sure everyone is running by the rules. Ultrasignup is now marking anyone who gets caught cheating as "DSQ" on their site, so RD's can see this.
“Paralysis-to-50k” training plan is underway!
If you haven't checked it out yet, Jamil put up a podcast about it, recorded right after the race:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkIaSdI7UJY
He gets blurred out in Billy Yang's beer mile film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMgGydYBKCY
Old , Ugly and slow
Thanks for the link to the podcast.
I still can't understand his motivation
first race sept 1977 last race sept 2007
2019 goals 1000 miles , 190 pounds , deadlift 400 touch my toes
If you haven't checked it out yet, Jamil put up a podcast about it, recorded right after the race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkIaSdI7UJY
That was a really good podcast. You could really see how they struggles with having to catch someone they knew and had previously trusted.
One of the Ultrarunning FB pages brought up a point of how when Kelly's times were more pedestrian, he would usually explain it on his blog by saying he ran off course and was lost and lost time. I do remember that getting lost was a recurring theme is his reports, and thought it was just bad navigation, but it was so frequent, that maybe it was his way of trying to explain when he actually ran the race and had a middle of the pack time.
He gets blurred out in Billy Yang's beer mile film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMgGydYBKCY
That is too funny !
Are we there, yet?
I think I spotted Kelly's wife Jo a couple times though.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Faster Than Your Couch!
Nice video!
I remember one race (Western States?), where I was following his progress through the night, and I found it very strange that despite his huge successes at other races, he was way at the back of the pack, then disappeared from the map several times for extended periods, then reappeared again at a somewhat different position in the pack, etc.. At first I thought that the GPS might have been spotty, but he was the only one who had "disappeared", and it happened several times. I remember I was quite impressed that he was able to pass so many runners while he was "off"...
And it was all faked. Very disappointing.
I am wondering about what else in his life (what he told us) was just lies. In my experience, someone who pulls off such elaborate cheat schemes and puts in so much effort usually is not honest about many other things, too. It excites them to see how they actually drop hints about their schemes here and there, and how no-one seems to pick up on it (of course not, because no-one hears all the information and can put the pieces together), and how they can manipulate and con people. And as soon as someone confronts them, they either start some distraction, some accusation (which is made up out of nowhere), throw a tantrum, or disappear silently. Which is just what we saw.
Unfortunately, even when they are exposed, this usually does not stop them from starting up new cons, just because it gives them a kick to be in control.
Just my thoughts, I am not saying this is what Kelly did or does, as I do not know.
Run for fun.
I wrote this in the weekend dailies. It happened at the Naked Bavarian 20/40 Mile Trail race this past weekend.
Funny story. At the second AS, you enter a 7 mike loop before coming back and going back on the first 6.5 miles (now mostly uphill). The guy directing traffic kept saying “go this way (pointing to the 7 mike loop) unless you are Kelly Agnew”. Kelly lived in this area and used to run in a lot of local races. Most everyone knew exactly what he meant.
Hi (I'm alive! not running, due to a torn ACL and surgery 7 weeks back. everything is as well as expected)
So every day for the past 5 or 6 years, I check a website called Deadspin.com daily. Just sports stuff and I appreciate the writing.
There was an article today about the leader of Hardrock getting DQ'd for accepting illegal aid (water from a crew car outside a designated aid zone.
The last line of the article was as follows and I quote
"These were the first two disqualifications in race history, but at least nobody tried to scam the race by hiding in a port-a-potty."
Long live Deadspin and their inability to let things go!
mta: Huh, maybe I should have looked at the dailies first.
I've been out of the game far too long
Trail and Ultra Running User Group
Hi (I'm alive! not running, due to a torn ACL and surgery 7 weeks back. everything is as well as expected) So every day for the past 5 or 6 years, I check a website called Deadspin.com daily. Just sports stuff and I appreciate the writing.
Ouch! Sorry you are on the injured reserve. Stop by anytime.
How's Baby Bird (Toddler Bird now) doing?
Well, add me to the list of long lost members who came back to chime in on this story!
(For the record, I haven’t run an ultra in 3 years but I now have a beautiful 14 month old daughter named Savannah and I’m training for the NYC marathon.)
I was SHOCKED when I read about this today! I was actually reading another story about the cheating pageant queen ultrarunner Maude Gorman and saw Kelly’s picture in a link at the bottom. Also out of the loop of ultrarunning in general so I’m a little behind on the news. I always looked up to Kelly as an ultra runner while getting into the sport and what a shame this is. Unbelievable what lengths people will go to.
I’m very sad to hear about John M. He inspired me to write more about running, and we chatted several times about writing and the therapeutic nature of it. He was truly one of a kind.
I hope everyone is doing well...nice to “see” some familiar faces around here still!
Donate to my NYC Marathon fundraiser for Every Mother Counts!
NYCM: 11/4/2018
Welcome back! I'd actually been wondering recently where you were and if you were still running. You were one of the first here I met IRL.
Hi,stranger. Stop by more often, don't have to run much to post, but since you’re training for NYCM, then you’re running. And yes, you have to post a picture of Savannah in the dailies. It's mandatory.