"Paul Ryan Syndrome"

It's a big pet peeve for me...

God do I hate people who lie about their race times ... like Republican VP candidate Paul Ryan who was called out on by Runners World on his lie of running a sub 3 hr marathon.  How do they think they can get away with it?  There is nothing more easy to research than race times.

I met a woman named Debbie Compton from Franklin, TN.  She claimed to have run a  17:58 5K at age 45.   First, she said she finished second in the race, and then she said she won it.  She also claimed to have run 9 marathons with a PR of 3:28.

I was astounded and skeptical that she ran a 17:58 5K ... and of course she couldn't remember where or what race.   I was skeptical because that time is below Viki Crisp's state record for that age and race.  That time would be truly elite, 2nd in the nation in most USATF Masters Nationals 5k road races in her age group.

I call: PANTS ON FIRE!  She's lying.  Person best times are hard fought and earned.  One does not easily forget where and when you earned a personal best time ... unless you're lying.

The reality is - the only 2 races I found for Debbie Compton on record were the '07 Habitrot 5K where she ran a mediocre 28:25  - not even in the top 15 of her age group, and the '97 Marine Corp Marathon where she ran a 4:45:07 ... at age 33.

When confronted with these facts she claimed she got a lot faster when "she started training on a bike" and that the fast 5K was due to inspiration from her father in law's death.  OK..... right.

Fraud.  Narcissistic personality disorder - those that lie and exaggerate their achievements.  Also, she describes herself as "smart" and "attractive" on a website.  Grant it, maybe she's so clueless about the sport she doesn't even realize the absurd level of her lie... not so smart.  Look at the Nashville Striders Race Results for the past 10 years.  I can't find one female over 35 that has run a 5K under 18 sec in 10 years (other than world champion Sonia Friend-Uhl at age 41).

I have no tolerance for shit like this.  Those of us who bust our asses day after day in a sport where achievements are precisely measured by the clock, have no tolerance for those who lie about their race times.

I asked Jacob Carrigan, the local 5K king who has won more 5k races in 10 years than anyone in the state.  He said he's never heard of Debbie Compton and if she had run even in the 18s, he'd have remembered her.  He called it "Paul Ryan Syndrome."

Come on Debbie, prove me wrong.   Show us proof of your 17:58 5K, your 9 marathons with a PR of 3:28.