Runners Allege Bib Fraud at Boston Marathon
Update (9:15 p.m.): The two men pictured in the tweet below are two former Boston College cross country runners, Fittish, a fitness blog affiliated with Deadspin, reported.
Fittish’s Jon Gugala spoke with BC cross country assistant coach Tim Ritchie, who told him that he used to coach the two young men. The coach refused to give any names or information, but said they were running to raise money for a friend’s charity. They resorted to counterfeit bibs after failing to properly apply for bibs by the Boston Athletic Association’s deadline.
Ritchie told Gugala that he didn’t know “how many other runners were on the underground fundraising team, or if there were other runners with other counterfeit bibs.’’
The BAA released a statement via Facebook on Thursday night to address the issue of fradulent bibs:
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Original Story:At least two people have come forward saying that they found evidence of bib fraud that took place at the 2014 Boston Marathon, Runners Breakfast reported.
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Kara Bonneau and Michael Sullivan each found other people wearing bibs with their numbers when they searched race photos in the days after the marathon. Bonneau found four other people wearing her number, and Sullivan found one.
“I was especially infuriated to see photos of those runners posing with finisher medals that really did not belong to them,’’ Bonneau told Runners Breakfast. “I also felt really naive because I made it pretty easy for them to do this by posting a photo of my bib on social media.’’
When she sent a message to the Boston Marathon Facebook page, the report says organizers responded saying “there is little we can do, other than to send a message of deterrence.’’
At this point, it remains unclear whether there was actually bib fraud or if there is a more innocent explanation.
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