In May, AZCentral.com published an article on Greg Pafford.
Dr. Pafford has been profiled on this site for his impossible splits over 12 consecutive years at the RnR Arizona Marathon. Since I was unable to get a hold of Dr. Pafford directly, I will respond to comments he made in that article.
In Denial
“I never ran a 4:50 or a 5:15 pace,” he said in an interview. “I don’t know where those times come from.”
As confirmed in the article, the times came directly from the race results pages from every year since 2006.
This was confirmed by the reporter. I sent him links to all of the times.
“I’m a Nice Guy”
“Ask anybody who knows me: I’ve done more charity work, and I’m a nice guy.”
Being a nice guy or doing charity work does not mean he didn’t cut courses. I’ve seen many times where runners or their supporters feel that they should get a pass because they are running for charity or they are ‘nice guys’.
For the 2017 marathon, he originally had a finish time of 3:08:31. Pafford noted that he briefly mingled with family and “sang a Cheap Trick song.” He suggested that leaving the course may have caused a technology glitch.
This is absurd. There is zero chance that his leaving the course would have led to him being recorded crossing the finish time before he actually did. Also, he had similar ‘glitches’ in the prior 11 years.
Maintaining His Innocence
“I’ve never cut the course … I don’t get anything out of this. It’s a stress release for me, and now it’s become stressful.”
There is simply no other explanation for the 12 years of results shown above other than concluding that he cut the course.
He also says that, after the initial Marathon Investigation article, he contacted RnR and told them something wasn’t right, leading to an adjustment of his time to 5:00:00.
In fact, he was disqualified initially, and shortly before the 2018 race, he was inexplicably added back to the results with the 5 hour time.
Pafford was originally registered for the 2018 marathon but dropped down to the half. He finished the half marathon in a time of 2:37:47. He says he was feeling ill.
He also stated that he consulted libel lawyers but decided against filing a lawsuit. I’ve consistently shared only the facts. The data was taken directly from the RnR results pages. I’ve offered my opinion that he cut the course based only on these facts. It is conclusive that the times and splits he was credited with from 2006 through 2017 are not accurate.
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What’s up with these dentists? (see Kip Litton).
Of course, he’s a nice guy! So is Larry… and Ed… and Tracy. And Maude is a nice girl; so is Anita… well, maybe, sometimes, once upon a time.
Greg needs to stick to dentistry. “Glitch?” He appears to have no clue about the technology and science of electronic timing systems. And perhaps even how to follow directions.
I can just imagine seeing him dance with the giant brush to “I Want You To Want Me.”
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
Heh heh. Cutting marathons is a Cheap Trick. I think he might prefer Reach Out.
No one’s going to give it away.
They make it hard for the people today.
To get what you want, you’ve got to do it yourself.
Don’t be afraid to drive the nail in the wood.
Or drink the bottle if it tastes so good.
You’ll go the distance. You never thought that you could.
Reach out and take it.
Reach out and ta-ta take it.
Reach out and take it.
Reach out and ta-ta-ta take it.
Reach out and take it. Oh, yeah!
Cough up the cash when you go over and over.
Before the old one’s gone, you’ve got a new owner.
You need assistance when your head’s in the clouds.
You could live easy if life stood still.
You could be faking and breaking and taking it all.
But then you know you’re gonna fall.
I really enjoy reading about these folks.
It’s fascinating, but I wish we could get them strapped into a psychologist’s couch, and get some more info…
In what could be a crazy coincidence – is that alleged serial cheater Jeff Donnelly in the background of the picture?
I was wondering the same thing. How ironic is that???
I thought the same thing. I checked it out at the time. Not him. He was at the race though.
I stand corrected. Yes it is him! I remember checking it out at the time, and I must have plugged in the wrong year.
How is this coincidence possible? Two famous serial cheaters come together in one photo?!?! Amazing!
Ever read the book “Spy the Lie?” The excuse about being a nice guy and doing charity work made me think of that book instantly.
Can you start a gofundme to pay someone to follow him or any other serial course cutter with a gopro and catch him/her in the act. It seems like without definitive, irrefutable evidence, these people will never come to terms with their own pathological dishonesty. Also, I don’t think he understands libel law. Not only would he have to prove that he ran those times, he would have to prove that you knew he ran those times and intentionally wrote a fraudulent story anyway. Then he’d have to show damages were caused by the fraudulent story.
Oh I think he understands it. Well, perhaps the lawyers that he said he consulted with certainly would…hence the lack of any litigation.
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