2009 BayShore Marathon Full Report

Full Report & Objective Assessment of 2009 BayShore Marathon  - 5/23/2009
Traverse City, Michigan

I noticed that I have yet to write up a full report on this one. The folks over at LetsRun reminded me. So here it goes.





official results are located here: http://dev.bayshoremarathon.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67&Itemid=51
race photos are located here: http://www.backprint.com/view_event.asp?PID=bp%18yG&EVENTID=50179


Step 1: Copied & Pasted race results where Kip came in 2nd in his age group. Notice a 2min 41 sec chip/gun difference. The other top finishers in his age group took at most 0min27secs to cross the starting line, but it took Kip 2min 41secs. Also notice that Kip ran the first half in ~1hr 30mins and ran the second half in ~1hr 22mins. Is it possible that Kip got off to a slow start because he started so far back behind slow people, but then he managed to speed up to 6:19/mile over the 2nd half?


Male 45 to 49             
Place Overall Plc Name Age 1st Half Rnk 1st Half Time 1st Half Pace 2nd Half Rnk 2nd Half Time 2nd Half Pace Chip Time Gun Time Diff Pace
1 20 Mitch Hartnagle 45 3 1:26:55.95 6:38 2 1:26:02.17 6:34 2:52:58.12 2:53:03.02 00:04.90 6:36/M
2 21 Kip Litton 47 7 1:30:13.44 6:53 1 1:22:45.49 6:19 2:52:58.93 2:55:40.07 02:41.14 6:36/M
3 22 John Niven 45 1 1:25:36.38 6:32 3 1:27:42.00 6:42 2:53:18.38 2:53:45.62 00:27.24 6:37/M
4 36 Dana Fluet 47 6 1:28:30.17 6:45 4 1:30:30.51 6:55 2:59:00.68 2:59:04.88 00:04.20 6:50/M
5 40 Larry Gutierrez 48 5 1:28:11.46 6:44 5 1:32:44.79 7:05 3:00:56.25 3:00:59.02 00:02.77 6:54/M


Step 2: Checked out Kip Litton's photos at http://www.backprint.com/view_event.asp?PID=bp%18yG&EVENTID=50179 and here's what came up. All of the photos only show Kip right before the finish. Why is this?

Step 3: I checked the photos for the other top age group finishers and, not surprisingly, these runners appeared at other points along the race course (not just right before the finish line).

e.g. Mitch Hartnagle -1st place in Kip's age group

e.g. John Niven (3rd place behind Kip in Kip's age group)

e.g. Dana Fluet (4th place in Kip Litton's age group)

e.g. Larry Gutierrez (5th place in Kip's age group)

Step 4 - I looked to see what the last place finishers' chip/gun difference was. Remember that Kip's chip/gun difference was 2mins and 41 secs. So it looks like Kip started after some of these 5-6 hr finishers, yet he came in 2nd in his age group with a 2:52:58 official time. Maybe there's an explanation for this. I've heard that some marathoners running for charity raise money based on how many people they pass. Perhaps this is why Kip starts in the back. Or, more likely, it is because it allows Kip to stay unnoticed so that the top finishers don't notice him until the computerized official results are spit out at the post-race festivities?


So here are some finishers with similar chip/gun differences to Kip Litton's chip/gun difference: 


4 1367 Marcia Rignault 60 4 2:52:39.51 13:11 4 2:57:08.93 13:31 5:49:48.44 5:52:18.24 02:29.80 13:21/M


3 1374 Cathy De Leeuw 65 3 2:51:06.40 13:04 3 3:04:55.92 14:07 5:56:02.32 5:58:36.28 02:33.96 13:35/M


41 1377 Patricia Loyselle 51 41 2:46:01.19 12:40 41 3:15:39.65 14:56 6:01:40.84 6:03:54.12 02:13.28 13:48/M


76 1382 Judith Kendra 43 75 2:54:09.74 13:18 73 3:23:18.11 15:31 6:17:27.85 6:19:49.00 02:21.15 14:24/M


Step 5 - I tried to give Kip the benefit of the doubt. I looked at some of these last place finishers to see their photos in case it's possible that perhaps one possible explanation that Kip's photos only appear right before the finish is because Kip started so far back so the race photographer perhaps didn't bother taking photos of people who started this far back. So I looked to find photos of those with comparable chip/gun differences to Kip's 2min 41sec chip/gun difference.  Unlike Kip Litton, I found that these finishers with comparable chip/gun differences still had photos at various points along the course and not just right before the finish line!!!

e.g. for Marcia Rignault, who had a 2:29 chip/gun difference

e.g. for Cathy De Leeuw, who had a 2:33 chip/gun difference

e.g. for Patricia Loyselle, who had a 2:13 chip/gun difference

e.g.  for Judith Kendra, who had a 2:21 chip/gun difference

Step 6 - Based on the lack of photos of Kip Litton at any points except right before the finish along with a huge negative split and these other factors, I'm adding 2009 BayShore Marathon to one of Kip Litton's suspicious performances on the clickable map.


We'd love to hear any comments you have on this. Kip, if you're reading this and have some explanation, we'd love to hear it.