E-Mail from person - Kip's neighbor?

I just received this email today from someone claiming to be neighbor of Kip Litton's. I'm copying and pasting it below.

"Hi,

I’m a neighbor of Kip Litton (literally live less than ¼ mile from him, same subdivision).  So I see him run in/out of the sub on a regular basis.  Although we share the same interest of running, that’s about it.  Recently I received an email from him inquiring about a marathon in Wisconsin that he mistakenly thought I ran annually.  He thought I ran the WhislteStop marathon in Ashland, WI, however I regularly run the Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee.  That being said, he wrote “I wanted to ask you a few questions about the WhistleStop Marathon. If you have a chance could you call me tonight or one of the next couple evenings? Thanks. - Kip Litton”.  At first I ignored his email as I’m not really friends with him as he had previously insulted my father-in-law by mocking him like a high school sophomore after my father-in-law asked him about his Boston Marathoner Finisher jacket that Kip was wearing while both where dining at a local restaurant. 

When I told my wife about the email, she got curios and googled him and saw all the news about his running “style”.  She passed on the web sites and I quickly read as much as I could.  I did not respond to his emails until later that week after he dropped off an envelope in my mailbox asking the same.  He’s obviously determined to get some answers.  I responded with a brief email stating that I’ve never run the WhistleStop but have run Milwaukee’s Lakefront which was already sold out for 2011.  He thanked me and that was the end of our correspondence.  I’m speculating he wanted to know where timing mats were placed and where photographers were situated.  Again, just speculation.

Regarding all the allegations about his running “style” and DQs from races, I believe them.  I once respected him for his running “talent”, but now believe he is a cheat and a scam based on the incident with my father-in-law, the other subdivision encounters and his arrogance (now much deflated).  If I were a race director, I’d DQ him from a race unless he’s documented in photos.  Others I talk to in the neighborhood are aware of his cheating exploits and I am spreading the word encouraging those that are unaware to look him up on the web.

Kip can run, and he bikes a lot to cross train.  I’m speculating that he may get to the next timing mat by biking, posing as a race volunteer that rides the course monitoring runner’s physical condition.   He also bikes with a neighbor, regularly going out on 50+ mile rides in an afternoon, several times a week.  So he is capable, but probably of 3:15 to 3:20 marathons.

You may use the facts of this email in your blog, no names please.  If you want more information about him, call on my number listed below."

Kip Litton touched on in Sage Canaday's book Running For the Hansons

"Kip Litton would qualify as a Stroke, as would anyone who finagles his or her way into the Boston Marathon! Strokes will usually at least purchase some Gu, but not until they tell you that the marathon is too easy for them, so they moved up to the Ironman. They might test your prowess in running by asking you whether or not you have qualified for Boston, and if so, how many times."


Canaday, Sage (2011). Running For The Hansons: An Insider's Account of The Brooks-Sponsored Marathon Training Group Made Famous by Olympian Brian Sell (pp. 110-111). Vo2max Productions, LLC. Kindle Edition.

Bizarre Behavior Continues - Kip Litton a No Show at 2012 Boston

Dr. Litton didn't run Boston. No surprise since he hasn't raced since Dec, 2010.
Sources on location tell us that someone picked up his bib before the Boston Marathon. 

in summary:

TIME COURSE on Dr. KL
# of road races completed in year 2010: ~20.
with last road race - 12/10/2010
------------------------------
--------------
Date LetsRun thread allowed to continue,StudyOf KL blog started, etc. - 1/6/2011
---------------------------------------------
# of road races completed in 2011: 0. (DNS at CowTown in Feb)
---------------------------------------------
Today's 2012 Boston Marathon DNS - 4/16/2012

How might he have raced 2010 Boston Marathon?

Let's take a look at Kip's Outfits. 
http://kiplitton.blogspot.com/2012/04/study-of-outfits.html
He seems to like to wear 2 different caps (sometimes switching caps in the middle of races). Let's refer to them as Cap A and Cap B. At Boston 2010, Kip is wearing Cap A at 15K, 13.1Miles, & 30K............and Cap B right before the finish line. It appears he may have done the same at COX Providence, Rhode Island marathon - wears Cap A at the start and Cap B before the finish (along with a shoe change and shorts change). At Deadwood (South Dakota), where he was disqualified, he went with a light-blue cap to Cap B.


AT BOSTON 2010

It appears that Kip wore an all black outfit (black long sleeve and black long pants) and what we refer to as Cap A (a black colored cap with green/white logo) up until at least the 30K point (~18miles where he accidentally came into camera view at 30K where Jim Rhodes (an unofficial photographer i.e. not affiliated with marathonfoto.com) was taking photos).

-> wonder if he was on the sidewalk for most of the heartbreak hill area. Don’t forget Kip "ran" a 2:50ish at st louis the week before his supposed 2:52 at Boston, then somewhere before the finish he stripped the black long sleeve and the black long pants to have his race bib showing and also changed ball caps to Cap B (a black cap with a BAA logo).  We don't have proof it's the same person but the yellow tinted sunglasses, silver watch and red/white Mizuno shoes all appear to match. http://kiplitton.blogspot.com/2011/01/more-photos-discovered-of-kip-boston.html

We looked back at Kip's outfits to see if there was some pattern, perhaps with the ballcaps.

http://kiplitton.blogspot.com/2012/04/study-of-outfits.html

And It looks like he's worn Cap A at most of his races from 2009-2010.And it looks like he has switched ballcaps in the middle of the following marathons:

1. COX Providence, Rhode Island Marathon (can't tell for sure but looks like he went Cap A to Cap B, along with taking off shorts and the shoe change of course)

2. Deadwood, South Dakota DQ (he went from a lightblue colored cap at the start to Cap B at the finish)

3. & at Boston 2010 from Cap A to Cap B.  

Cap A - a faded black color baseball cap with a Green & White logo

Cap B - black color with a BAA logo

_________________________________________________

At Races that were Pre Boston Marathon 2010 (mostly Cap A)

Cap A - at 2009 Gasparilla Florida race

CAP A - at BAA 5K 2010, the 17:17 5K

Cap A - During Boston 2010, at 15K (~9.3miles)

At races that were Post Boston Marathon 2010 (some Cap A and Cap B)

July, 2010 - at Missoula Marathon finish (Disqualified)

Study of Outfits

The KL Story in Pictures

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

10/5/2008 - Inaugural Brooksie Way Half Marathon

2/15/2009 - Sarasota (Florida) Half Marathon

2/28/2009 - Gasparilla Distance Classic

10/04/2009 - City of Trees Marathon (Idaho) -- Disqualified

1/17/2010 - PF Chang Marathon (Arizona)

Gasparilla (Florida) 2010 5K - 2/27/2010

Gasparilla (Florida) 2010 Marathon - 2/28/2010

3/20/2010 - ShamRock (Virginia) 8K 2010

3/21/2010 - ShamRock (Virginia Beach) Marathon 2010

4/11/2010 - Go! St Louis Marathon

4/18/2010 - 2010 Boston Marathon

5/02/2010 - COX Providence Marathon

 

5/30/2010 - Vermont City Marathon

6/6/2010 - Deadwood South Dakota Trail Marathon (Disqualified)

7/11/2010 - Missoula Montana Marathon (Disqualified)

9/12/2010 - Rochester New York Marathon

10/03/2010 - Maine Half Marathon

12/11/2010 - Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon

Boston 2012: Assigned Bib #1711 (1st wave, 2nd corral)

Kip Litton has been assigned bib #1711 at Boston Marathon 2012 (1st wave, 2nd corral).  According to blog poll on the right-side, 60% of you believe he will be a no show. Some predicted the BAA wouldn't allow him to toe the line, but that won't be the case April 16th. Kip last made the trip to Boston in 2010, where he completed the 2010 Boston Marathon in 2:52, despite an outfit change (black sweatsuit & ballcap). He also blazed the BAA 5K course the day before in 17:17 (5:34 min/mi), despite a 4:04 gun/chip differential and a photo showing Litton finishing stride for stride with runners finishing at ~7min pace (please see this link for more info).

________________________________________________________

LIVE ATHLETE TRACKING
If you're interested in tracking Kip (or any other runner), runners can be tracked online here:

http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/att-athlete-alert.aspx

________________________________________________________


Additionally, Flint Journal (Michigan) writer, Bill Khan, added the following update on 10/31/2011 to his original ARTICLE on Kip Litton. He linked to pictures posted on this blog.

http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/runners/2010/04/042510-kip-litton.html

" Editor's note: Since this article was published, Kip Litton's performance in this and other marathons has come under scrutiny. These photos have been used as evidence that Litton didn't run the entire course." - Bill Khan, Flint Journal (Michigan)"

Original Story on Kip's registration to Boston Marathon here.

http://kiplitton.blogspot.com/2011/09/kip-registered-at-boston-2012.html

2009 Northville MI Solstice run 10K - Full Report (6/27/2009)

Race in June, 2009 & Disqualification in February, 2011
(Please see Race Director, Alan Whitehead's note below)

Northville, Michigan (6/27/2009) Official Results - http://www.runmichigan.com/results/full.php/2009/06/27/2009-solstice-run.html

Kip's photos can be found on pg3 here (no bib showing)http://www.runmichigan.com/photogallery/09/solstice10k_062709jb.php?198

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Alan Whitehead <awhitehead@mi.rr.com>
Date: Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 7:51 PM
Subject: 2009 Solstice Run 10K - Finish Results for Kip Litton
To: befreetoo@hotmail.com


Kip,

I am the Race Director for the Solstice Run in Northville, MI and many of my fellow running and community friends have brought to my attention the results of the 2009 Solstice Run 10K race event where you were credited with a finish time of 37:14.

I have evidence with videos and pictures taken at various stages of our 2009 10K race on the course and it is apparent you did not run the entire 10K course in the chip time recorded.

One example is a picture of yourself finishing:http://www.runmichigan.com/photogallery/09/solstice10k_062709me_window.php?31

We took note and recognized your tee shirt was dry on such a tough course & high temperature day. You & I know you easily shortcut the course.

My responsibility to the Solstice Run event is to conduct an organized, fair and professional race event with accurate finisher results. Therefore with the evidence in hand can you explain your appearance & lack of previous race times that would support such a solid 6 minute pace on our hilly 10K race event in Northville?

I am prepared to officially "Disqualify" your finish time in 2009 at the Solstice Run dependant on your response and explanation to the evidence received. Please respond by this Sunday, February 6th with your comments and feedback or I will need to make a decision then to process a Disqualification on your entry and finish-time in our 2009 Solstice Run 10K race.

Regards,

Alan Whitehead
Race Director
Solstice Run
www.solsticerun.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Kip (black) appears to be over the shoulder of the yellow shirt guy

http://www.runmichigan.com/photogallery/09/solstice10k_062709jb_window.php?62 

Direct verbatim from an email we received:

Solstice 10K 2009 Map (thanks to a reader who sent this in)

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.