The Running Thread - 2019

[BuckeyeBama]

I never advocate for the loss of life, but I understand this perspective.

I understand it, too. It is very human. But it can produce horrible consequences. People take their lives every day because their mistakes are made public and the public feels the need to pile on mercilessly.

I find no fault with the media for exposing him. He did this and should face the consequences. But those who feel the need to pile on need to reevaluate their lives. They are not helping him or anyone else. And if we are not trying to help, what are we trying to do?

The running community is pretty supportive. Most of the people attacking this guy have never run in their lives.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Actually they probably referred to this as cheating because the definition of cheating is act to dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage. That is literally what this person did.

My point is that he was far more than a cheater. Is that really lost on people?

 

[Bree]

It’s a tragedy any time someone takes their own life. We can speculate all we want, but the only person who can answer as to exactly why he took his own life is dead. Suicide always leaves the rest of us wondering why. My brother was 21yo when he killed himself 3 years ago. My mom still blames herself for not seeing the warning signs. There were none.

 

[IamTrike]

My point is that he was far more than a cheater. Is that really lost on people?

He was a runner, a husband, a cross country coach, dr, and an advocate for the latino community in LA. Unfortunately what we do in our worst moments tend to become the things that define us, particularly if it's close to our demise.

I don't think anyone is trying to say he is "only" a cheater. From what little I've seen of his video's part of his persona is a record breaking runner. It's unfortunate that he cut so much of the course. I think this would have been much less of an issue if he hadn't set an age Group World Record during this run.

 

[surfde22]

You are oversimplifying human behavior. We are complex creatures, and when we need help we often only get judgement.

A lifetime of helping others, and he is just a cheat and liar. So sad that we can't see past that to the troubled human being.

My point is that he was far more than a cheater. Is that really lost on people?

No one has diminished the good he has done. In fact, it hasn't been brought up at all as it isn't relevant to his decision to cheat and then continue to lie about it after being caught. That's the issue here.

The running community is pretty supportive. Most of the people attacking this guy have never run in their lives.

The running community is mostly supportive, but they are also going to be hard on those that try to cheat the system. I will be harder on a self proclaimed life long runner who cheats and continues to cheat, than a one and done marathoner that does, because the life long "competitive" runner will do more damage to the integrity of the sport than the one and done person. There's no need to be supportive of him given his behavior, especially in the absence of any information regarding his mental health.

 

[Princess_Nikki]

It’s a tragedy any time someone takes their own life. We can speculate all we want, but the only person who can answer as to exactly why he took his own life is dead. Suicide always leaves the rest of us wondering why. My brother was 21yo when he killed himself 3 years ago. My mom still blames herself for not seeing the warning signs. There were none.

True. Sometimes there are no warning signs at all! My sympathies to your family, Bree.

 

[camaker]

My point is that he was far more than a cheater. Is that really lost on people?

I don't think that's lost on people. However, this is a running community discussing an issue with a runner, so the focus is going to be on the person's actions while running. Also from that perspective, it doesn't matter what he was in his life outside of running, it does not excuse the cheating. I will take it a step further, too, and state that I would not go to a doctor that I knew had done the things he did while racing. It's too much of a risk for me to take that the unethical behavior extended beyond competition into other aspects of his life.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I don't think that's lost on people. However, this is a running community discussing an issue with a runner, so the focus is going to be on the person's actions while running. Also from that perspective, it doesn't matter what he was in his life outside of running, it does not excuse the cheating. I will take it a step further, too, and state that I would not go to a doctor that I knew had done the things he did while racing. It's too much of a risk for me to take that the unethical behavior extended beyond competition into other aspects of his life.

I would not have seen him as a doctor either, but if he lived in my community I would probably have sought him out to help him. He needed help.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

It’s a tragedy any time someone takes their own life. We can speculate all we want, but the only person who can answer as to exactly why he took his own life is dead. Suicide always leaves the rest of us wondering why. My brother was 21yo when he killed himself 3 years ago. My mom still blames herself for not seeing the warning signs. There were none.

I am so sorry to hear about your brother's death. It is something that my entire family lives in fear of as my son battles his problems. He has been dealing with mental illness since his teens. He also showed no signs. We were fortunate that he came to us, because we had no clue.

 

[Kerry1957]

I ask this question out of ignorance, so please educate me. I don't understand how he could be a victim of social media bullying, unless he was an active (and willing??) participant. He chose to go on several TV shows and I assume was active on social media. Although I have Linkedin and FB accounts, I never post and rarely am on them. I don't have an instagram account. This board is my only social media. So in that respect I am almost totally immune to any attempt to bully or harass me by people I am not in direct contact with. When the heat was on him, would have he been better off just staying off his computer/phone for a while, and not appearing on TV?

By posting this I am willing and open to respectful disagreement and cannot claim victim status if I don't like or agree with how you respond.

Whatever his issues were I feel sad for his family and friends. I heard a quote somewhere (death row attorney?) that said as people, we are better than the worst thing we have done in our lives. Pray for peace, understanding and eventually acceptance by his family.

 

[baxter24]

Dog running: Our dog Sully for sure is built for sprinting. Our neighbors watched him for us this past weekend and he managed to escape at least three times. The last time he sprinted all the way to our door step and appeared to be waiting for us. We need to go through some obedience courses before I get him running.

Disneyland video: The whole thing just made me sad. Maybe it’s me just being a mom, but I found myself most concerned for those three little kids in that family. I think I saw some random stranger pick up the little boy towards the end of the video just to get him out of harms way.

Meza: I feel so sorry for his family and friends having to go through this. I’m sad that he felt the need/desire to do what he did during those races. He clearly needed help.

 

[jennamfeo]

we are better than the worst thing we have done in our lives.

I needed to hear this today. ❤

 

[IamTrike]

Dog running: Our dog Sully for sure is built for sprinting. Our neighbors watched him for us this past weekend and he managed to escape at least three times. The last time he sprinted all the way to our door step and appeared to be waiting for us. We need to go through some obedience courses before I get him running.

Disneyland video: The whole thing just made me sad. Maybe it’s me just being a mom, but I found myself most concerned for those three little kids in that family. I think I saw some random stranger pick up the little boy towards the end of the video just to get him out of harms way.

Our Dog Belle is an okay running partner. 3 to 5 mile runs are pretty good with her but anything above that and she's decides she's indoorsy.

The DL video is just sad. If people behave like that in public I can't imagine what those kid's home life is like.

 

[opusone]

Hey all, I just want to say that I love this running forum because we are unlike all the other running forums (e.g. letsrun[.]com). I have found that we are always very supportive of each other regardless of the different life journeys that we are taking. I know we have many differences (a good thing), including viewing situations such as Dr. Meza's life/choices/death from different perspectives based on our own thoughts and life's experiences, but please keep the disagreements civil. These discussions can quickly snowball out of control, and I would hate to see that happen here.

 

[Bree]

I am so sorry to hear about your brother's death. It is something that my entire family lives in fear of as my son battles his problems. He has been dealing with mental illness since his teens. He also showed no signs. We were fortunate that he came to us, because we had no clue.

Being able to approach you about it is wonderful. Sounds like he has a good support system in place.

Whatever his issues were I feel sad for his family and friends. I heard a quote somewhere (death row attorney?) that said as people, we are better than the worst thing we have done in our lives. Pray for peace, understanding and eventually acceptance by his family.

I really like that quote. Thank you for posting it. I’d not heard it before, but it’s so true.

 

[KevM]

I heard a quote somewhere (death row attorney?) that said as people, we are better than the worst thing we have done in our lives. Pray for peace, understanding and eventually acceptance by his family.

“Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” That’s a quote by Bryan Stevenson. He’s an attorney & human rights activist. It’s from his memoir Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.

 

[roxymama]

Hey all, I just want to say that I love this running forum because we are unlike all the other running forums (e.g. letsrun[.]com). I have found that we are always very supportive of each other regardless of the different life journeys that we are taking. I know we have many differences (a good thing), including viewing situations such as Dr. Meza's life/choices/death from different perspectives based on our own thoughts and life's experiences, but please keep the disagreements civil. These discussions can quickly snowball out of control, and I would hate to see that happen here.

I also just wanted to add that we are lucky to be a part of such a supportive group. I know that you all will congratulate me on my race whether I post a time or not, and whether I finished in the front or back of the pack, or whether it was a half marathon that was 30 minutes more than I intended it to be, etc. It's good you all push us to be our best but no one needs to be "perfect" and that's refreshing. There's a lot of people who think they need to be perfect or achieve greatness (even if it is fake.) This is a good reminder for me to be that supportive person with the other people in my life.
I'm glad I have a space to be honest about my failings and my successes

 

[Professor_Cookie]

Hey all, I just want to say that I love this running forum because we are unlike all the other running forums (e.g. letsrun[.]com). I have found that we are always very supportive of each other regardless of the different life journeys that we are taking. I know we have many differences (a good thing), including viewing situations such as Dr. Meza's life/choices/death from different perspectives based on our own thoughts and life's experiences, but please keep the disagreements civil. These discussions can quickly snowball out of control, and I would hate to see that happen here.

Let’s run is a cesspool. Spent about 2 minutes there before I was like, “nope. This is the reason I deleted Facebook.

 

[Kerry1957]

“Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” That’s a quote by Bryan Stevenson. He’s an attorney & human rights activist. It’s from his memoir Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.

Thank you @KevM . The actual quote is much better than the paraphrase I used.

 

[LSUlakes]

For the gulf coast posters, if the tropics haven't grabbed your attention yet, it may be time to start taking note. A low pressure system just got into the gulf and currently looks like bad news for Louisiana. Not much of a wind event, but rain of 1-2 feet are possible over the weekend. The only other posters I can think of in south LA are @girliea if I have the correct username and @Keels. EURO model has been consistent on the last few runs and other models are in agreement. Possible weak cat 1 or strong TS, but rain being the main issue as mentioned before. Since I like to plan, ill probably knock out the grocery store part of things soon before it gets named and everyone looses their minds and runs in for milk and bread lol.