“Bib Mule” Runs Grandma’s To Gain Runner Entry To 2019 Boston Marathon

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Steve completed Grandma’s Marathon in 2018 in a time of 3:28:25. As a 60-year-old male, this was well under the time needed to grant him entry into the 2019 Boston Marathon.

Prior to Grandma’s Marathon, he ran The 2017 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon  in a time of 4:23:36.

Steve used his time at The 2018 Grandma’s Marathon to register for the 2019 Boston Marathon.

Photos available from marathonfoto.com show that the runner wearing Steve’s bib clearly was not Steve.

I am reporting this case of bib muling to both The B.A.A. and Grandma’s. I fully expect him to be disqualified from Grandma’s and removed from The Boston Marathon entry list.

 

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15 COMMENTS

  1. I’m surprised the corral people didn’t notice this. All female runners have a “F” in front of their number for Grandma’s for at least the past couple of years.

    Nice catch Derek

  2. Interesting (and somewhat depressing) that a 3:30 marathon for a 60 year-old gets you merely 11th out of 148 runners. I’m not quite at that age yet and I’m delighted when I can break 4:00!

  3. I feel like there’s more to this story. I won’t put the name here, but bib#6326 shows in the results with a woman’s name and 4:51 finish. Is this the same person who ran with Steve’s number? If so, she should be sanctioned too. Or is there some other explanation? These two people are not from the same state. A straight bib swap and BQ application seems so easy to catch, like robbing a bank while staring at the security camera.

        • Well, she seems young, but the resolution is low so it’s hard to say. Runners tends to be in good shape, so she could be more experienced. However, she has a noticeable hip drop, which any older runner will tell you is a sure sign of future trouble. So I am guessing a younger runner, propelled by youth, rather than experience . A granddaughter perhaps? If that’s the case I wouldn’t be too hard on her for trusting her family. But it would be good to explain to her that grandpa’s bib was taken at another’s expense. And cheating is wrong. But who knows.

  4. Vince, #6326 is Steve’s bib for the 2017 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon

    Steve’s Facebook page shows he offered to sell his Grandma’s Marathon bib for $55. He later confirmed he sold it. I posted the links to those pages here as a comment but that comment is awaiting moderation.

    • But then he registered for Boston based on that time. So he cheated to get into Boston AND made money on it? Dang.

  5. When reading your articles, I can get confused when you state something that didn’t happen: “Steve completed Grandma’s Marathon in 2018 in a time of 3:28:25.” It would be helpful to say instead, “Steve’s bib completed Grandma’s Marathon…”

    Keep up the good work.

  6. Why would you go through all the trouble of training for a 3:28 marathon to give to someone else? 3:28 is FAST. 3:28 take COMMITMENT.

    • The girl in the finisher photo was a Division I collegiate cross country runner so perhaps that isn’t her best marathon time.

  7. Steve Jewell’s time has been removed from the 2018 Grandmas Marathon results. I expect that his name will disappear from the 2019 Boston Marathon entry list within the near future.

Comments are closed.