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Is this man a Fraud?
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Then custard pie him.
Hang on, hang on ........................lynch mob mentality,
If he is cheating at a marathon he's only cheating himself .............................. if he is raising money on behalf of a charidy and not passing it over, that is another kettle of fish
He advertises the charity of 'Scottish Huntingtons Disease'.
i agree with you - j a l b m
im inclined to give almost anybody the benefit of the doubt but this is scandalous and needs to be investigated by flm and maybe the police then
lock him up and chuck away the key
Fair point KK
as Swerve says ................... custard pie the bitch ...................... and then hand him over to the authorities
well there are only 2 possibilities:-
1. he's a fraud
2. FLM know about it and let him do what he does as a fundraiser
If its the former then the FLM can't be very professional seeing as hyow he's done this same thing year after year. matbe worth an email to the organisers?
Hi Folks,
Hope you don't mind if I chuck in my tuppence worth. If it's the same Tommy the Clown I'm thinking of, then he is at many races up here in Scotland and (as far as I'm aware) collects bucket loads for charity (poor pun intended). Obviously I haven't a clue whether he completes the full FLM course or not (and the evidence suggests he doesn't), but to start insinuating that someone who doesn't complete the whole course is also defrauding charities is a bit out of order and bordering on libelous. And does it really matter if it pushes a few folk down a finishing place? He's hardly at the top end of the field. If you'd rather finish 16350th and have a charity get no money, than 16351st and a charity makes a few hundred quid, then you're a sad person.
Also, I ran my first 2 FLMs (2003 and 2004) for Scottish Huntington's Association. They have a few Golden Bond places and are a VERY worthwhile charity (and no, it wasn't advertised on their web page that they had people running the FLM back then either so that hardly makes the guy guilty this year).
If people are so concerned then why not give SHA a call? To me it just seems a sad day when a guy gets crucified for trying to earn a charity some money.
Thanks for that Jake,
can I still throw a custard pie at him for cutting corners
I dont agree Jake,
It does matter in my opinion. There are many methods of raising money for charity and yes FLM is one of them but its a race first and foremost, the idea of which being to travel the 26.2 mile course, not cheat by taking short cuts.
I see no difference in his behaviour (should our assumptions be proven correct) to people who run with fake numbers or those who jump onto the course in the last mile for a freebie medal and goody bag. In fact there is a difference come to think of it, this guy is depriving another runner of a place.
I think he's being justly challenged here not crucified. While he may not be defrauding charities? it appears he's defrauding those generously throwing money in the buckets if he's not actually completing the course.
You can throw more than one - clowns are supposed to love that sort of thing are they not?
He 'runs' in my club's 5k race and I'm not sure if he does the whole course (and doesn't make any pretence that he does). I think he just goes out to collect plenty of money, and I guess that maybe involves getting to the end while there are still plenty of spectators about. I've never spoken to him, but I've heard he's a really nice guy (and looks bizarrely different without the clown outfit on).
If it is the guy I'm think of, here's a pic from the Great Scottish Run website (where he seems to have swapped the clown outfit for that of a Roman centurian!) http://www.runglasgow.org/senior/course/course.php
Bouncing Belfast,
So if it's a race first and foremost but you encourage 'non-competitive' entrants to follw him? A wee bit contradictory. It's all about opinions, and if you'd rather have someone else in there that perhaps won't raise as much for charity then that's your call.
My turn to disagree - these outher frauds are out to get the medal/goody bag for THEMSELVES. He's trying to help OTHERS by getting money for a charity. I can understand if you're annoyed and yes I do think everyone should attempt to complete the whole course, but as long as a charity is making a decent amount then I don't mind turning a blind eye.
Sorry Jake you're wrong on this one.
He is getting money on false pretences.
Doubtless he goes to start and finish because the crowd is thickest there. He is conning people into thinking he is a runner and is getting a medal in the process which a lot of people have sweated blood for.
To go over the line is not nice - if he wants to collect money he should do it under his own steam rather than under a "flag of convenience".
Or would FLM tell him to sling his hook if he wasn't a runner.
Doubtless he means well but I don't think you can condone subterfuge as a way of collecting for charity as it cheapens the act itself.
People give out of the goodness of their hearts and to effectively con them is pretty heartless.
He is gipping people.
I'm sorry Jake but i totally disagree with you here. I ran the 26.2 miles yesterday for the first (and at the moment only time) and i bleedin well earned my medal and every single penny of the £1400 that i raised.
It is insulting not only to the runners taking part (professional or not) and all those people that stood in the rain for 7 hours plus to have someone cheat in such a way. It's not just himself that he is cheating but everyone on the streets of London - runners and specators included.
THe guy should be ashamed of himself if he has indeed cheated!
Lisa
Yes it is a race though not everyone's gunning it 100% to get to the finish in the optimum time, I virtually strolled around the last time I participated and soaked up the atmosphere as much as I could. I meant its a race in terms of the idea being to cover the distance. The comment about following him was written with tongue in cheek.
I dont think taking short cuts is in the spirit of the day and having watched double amputee's and the like come past where we were supporting yesterday I dont think others would either.
I dont necessarily think he should be outed, as his intentions maybe well natured but I feel uncomfortable with his methods, especially as it seems quite calculated given that its apparently an annual occurance. Im not so much annoyed, rather just uncomfortable with his deception.
If he's taking part every year its unlikely he's getting in via the ballot every time so must have a golden bond slot. I can't imagine the slot providers would welcome publicity about their charity runners taking short cuts.
Perhaps they should have an official shortcut for peeps who are shagged out by mile 11?
<<Thinks, this may be an idea whose time has come>>
If he's collecting cash on the course I cant imagine he raised gargantuant amounts, £1000 in cash would take some serious pushing even in a shopping trolly.
Given all golden bond entries require a bond of £1000+ he may well be depriving another charity?