Marathoner Stirs Running Controversy

Allegations of misconduct have dogged 67-year-old Richard Roodberg since 1988, when he came from nowhere to post a world-record time in his age group at the Los Angeles Marathon.

The Van Nuys resident was disqualified from that race, as well as the 1990 L.A. and Boston marathons, after officials said he failed to show up at any of the courses’ checkpoints. The allegations were that Roodberg did not run the entire races, charges he steadfastly denied in a 1990 interview with The Times.

Marathon runner Patrick Devine recalls reading about the controversy surrounding Roodberg, but said he didn’t give it much thought until he scanned the results of this year’s L.A. Marathon. When Devine discovered that Roodberg was the runner who finished ahead of him to win the 65-69 age group, a red flag went up.

Devine wondered whether Roodberg, who claims to train for marathons by jogging in place, was back to what Devine called his “old tricks.”

Prompted by Devine’s suspicions, detailed in a letter to L.A. Marathon President Bill Burke, officials reviewed videotape of the race to see if Roodberg’s victory in his age group should be overturned. But because it rained during the marathon, the quality of the tape was such that the investigation proved inconclusive, race director Lisa Rosenfield said.

“Without that sort of proof, we cannot disqualify anyone,” Rosenfield said.

Repeated attempts to reach Roodberg for comment were unsuccessful. He was awarded a watch and a plaque for his age-group victory.

In an event that had more than 19,000 entrants, the task of detecting alleged misconduct has proved daunting for L.A. Marathon officials. But the fact that Roodberg, twice disqualified, was granted entry into the March 5 race has raised questions about the marathon’s screening process.

To Devine, the situation is nothing short of appalling.

“Being that (Roodberg) burned the Los Angeles Marathon twice and the Boston Marathon once, I thought they would take stronger action,” he said.

Roodberg finished the 1995 L.A. Marathon in three hours, 17 minutes and 24 seconds--nearly three minutes faster than Devine, 66, an experienced runner who has completed all 10 L.A. marathons and has won his age group six times. Devine ranks among the nation’s top senior distance runners.

There is little data available on Roodberg at the USA Track and Field Road Running Information Center in Santa Barbara, other than a brief file that chronicles his alleged hoaxes.

“He’s a notorious cheater,” said Basil Honikman, chairman of the records committee at the information center.

Running Times magazine referred to Roodberg as “a known fraud” in a 1990 editorial.

Illan Sparado, Roodberg’s daughter, said her father is being judged unfairly by those skeptical of his accomplishments.

“It seems typical of people who are jealous,” Sparado said. “I probably sound a bit biased because I’m his daughter, but I know he is absolutely physically capable of running a marathon. There would be no reason for him to cheat.”

That’s because Roodberg has stayed in excellent physical condition throughout his life, Sparado said. In addition to running an occasional marathon, Sparado said, her father is an avid skier and beach volleyball player, and works out regularly with weights.

Sparado, 36, said she has watched Roodberg run the latter stages of the L.A. Marathon several times from a vantage point near the 23-mile mark. She also said friends have seen Roodberg running at different points along the course.

Sparado described Roodberg’s unorthodox training method.

“He jumps up and down on a mat,” she said.

In a 1990 interview with The Times, Roodberg said he prepared for a marathon by jogging in place on a rubber mat for an hour three times a week, thus avoiding the pounding his knees would absorb by running long distances on hard surfaces. Sparado said running is not part of her father’s training regimen.

This method of training deviates greatly from the workouts of most marathon participants, who run up to 100 miles a week. Devine, for instance, said he runs an average of 65 miles a week in preparation for a race.

Roodberg’s time at the L.A. Marathon in March breaks down to an average of seven minutes, 30 seconds per mile over the 26.2-mile course. Although that is far from a world-class pace, Devine and others said it is improbable that anyone, let alone a 67-year-old man, could run a marathon that quickly by using Roodberg’s training routine.

“There’s absolutely no way,” Devine said. “I get rusty if I do a few things wrong. If I haven’t run a race in a month or so, even if I’ve been training, I will be quite a bit off in my time.”

Former UCLA and USC coach Pat Connelly, who has coached distance runners for 30 years and is a commissioner for the L.A. Marathon, said there are no shortcuts when it comes to preparing for a marathon. He estimated that 1,200 of his students, alumni of a 30-week training program he conducts in conjunction with the medical staff at Orthopaedic Hospital, started the 1995 L.A. Marathon after completing a minimum of “four or five” 20-mile runs before the race.

“To be an accomplished marathoner, you have to put your body through the rigors that it takes to run 26 miles,” said Connelly, 57, a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant who lives in Van Nuys. “The body has to learn to take the impact of the roads. If you aren’t acclimated to take that kind of pressure, you are going to tie up in knots before you hit 20 miles. The body has to learn to adjust and work through it.”

Connelly said it was doubtful that Roodberg could run a three-hour, 17-minute marathon without logging a minimum of 60 miles a week in road training.

“Any serious runner would laugh, “ Devine said.

But he finds nothing funny about the L.A. Marathon continually allowing Roodberg to enter the race.

Rosenfield, the race director, said runners can be refused entry based on past misconduct, but she acknowledged that the rule is nearly impossible to enforce.

“We don’t have the computer technology to red-flag names,” she said.

Asked if Roodberg, based on his history, should have been prevented from entering the marathon, Rosenfield said she didn’t know.

Part of the problem, experts said, is that the L.A. Marathon is an “open” marathon, accepting all runners. The Boston Marathon is more selective, with qualification based on running times. Also, the Boston Marathon has a strict policy of banning all runners who have been previously disqualified.

Rosenfield was unsure if the L.A. Marathon has a similar policy.

Devine, a retired engineer who lives in Rancho Palos Verdes, said he follows his sport closely and knows virtually all of the top marathon runners in his age bracket. He also pays close attention during races.

“I go out fast, so usually the field is pretty sparse,” he said. “I usually see anyone who passes me. Anybody who looks old at all, I watch. The young guys, I don’t worry about. In the 10 L.A. marathons I’ve run, I’ve never seen (Roodberg) on the course before, during or after the race. I’ve never talked to him.”

Devine does know about Roodberg’s previous disqualifications, though.

Roodberg first got the attention of runners at the 1988 L.A. Marathon by crossing the finish line in an astounding time of two hours, 34 minutes and 35 seconds, which would have been a world record for his age had he not been disqualified. One of the runners Roodberg supposedly beat was 1972 Olympic marathon champion Frank Shorter, who was 40 at the time--19 years younger than Roodberg.

Roodberg posted a more modest time the next year at the L.A. Marathon, going unnoticed with a third-place finish in his age group. But in 1990 he finished in two hours, 47 minutes and 28 seconds to win the 60-64 group and apparently set a world record for his age. He was later disqualified. Despite Roodberg’s disqualification in 1988, marathon officials released his 1990 result to the media with no trace of skepticism.

Through that performance, Roodberg gained entry into the 1990 Boston Marathon. He was disqualified after he failed to show up on any of the video cameras that were set up every 10 kilometers along the course. “Must be bad camera angles or something,” Roodberg said at the time. He claimed officials at the L.A. Marathon failed to spot him in 1988 and ’90 because he was wearing a blue T-shirt over his bib number.

In the years since, Roodberg has kept a low profile in running circles. Devine, after checking past results, discovered that Roodberg finished the L.A. Marathon in three hours, 22 minutes and 25 seconds in 1993, and in three hours, 55 minutes and 44 seconds last year. Roodberg’s age-group victory in March was his first in the marathon since 1990, prompting Devine to launch his own investigation.

Devine expressed his suspicions to L.A. Marathon President Burke in a letter dated April 1: “I am sick and tired of runners with absolutely no credentials suddenly turning in world-class performances. . . . I ask you to contact Mr. Roodberg, requesting him to return his award. I also ask that you officially disqualify Mr. Roodberg as a message to other ‘phantom runners’ who may try to do likewise.”

Asked about Devine’s letter, Burke said he was unaware of the situation and referred the matter to Rosenfield. In 1990, though, Burke told The Times he knew what he would do if he were in charge of a race Roodberg had entered: “I would watch him and catch him.”

What would motivate a runner to cheat in a marathon?

Roodberg’s ex-wife, Yvonne, provided a clue. “He likes publicity,” she said.

Honikman, a USA Track and Field official and former referee at the L.A. Marathon, said marathon cheaters usually suffer from delusions.

“One of the problems with these people is that they are not calculated cheats,” Honikman said. “They really think they are running these races.”

Honikman said he encountered habitual cheaters when he used to put on marathons in Florida.

“One would start the race, go a couple of miles and jump off the course into his girlfriend’s car. They’d drive 15, 20 miles. The girlfriend would pour water over him and he’d finish the last three miles.”

The most famous marathon cheat remains Rosie Ruiz, the surprise women’s winner of the 1980 Boston Marathon. She managed to fool the national media for 24 hours before it was shown that she had run only the last mile.

The L.A. Marathon is thinking about improving its screening process by implementing a more advanced computer technology that would “red-flag” runners who have been charged with misconduct, Rosenfield said.

So far, though, marathon officials have done little to investigate the complaints of Devine and his senior brethren.

Other runners are so unconvinced of Roodberg’s ability, they’ve issued personal challenges.

Al Hromjak, former editor of the Seniors Track Club Newsletter, offered Roodberg $500 if he could repeat his 1990 L.A. Marathon performance on any course certified by The Athletics Congress.

Devine also extends a challenge, offering to pay for transportation and housing if Roodberg agrees to accompany Devine and other Gardena Reebok Running Club members to the St. George Marathon in Utah in October. Devine considers the course a perfect test, provided a runner is accounted for at the start, because it follows a straight path through rough, mountainous terrain.

“The only other ways to get to the finish line are by helicopter or rescue vehicle,” Devine said.

If such a trip is too inconvenient, Devine says he would gladly run against Roodberg at the Gardena 5K on June 4.

Devine would even pay the entry fee. He said he would consider it money well spent if it helps solve the mystery surrounding Roodberg.