L.A. Marathon Disqualifies 51-Year-Old Ortiz Again

Marco Ortiz might never have the name recognition of Rosie Ruiz in the long-distance running community, but he doesn’t lack for persistence.

For the second consecutive year, the 51-year-old resident of Los Angeles has been disqualified from the Los Angeles Marathon.

Ruiz made national headlines in 1980 when she was disqualified as the winner of the Boston Marathon eight days after crossing the finish line first in the women’s division in the 26-mile, 385-yard race.

Officials did not believe Ruiz ran the entire race for a variety of reasons, including the fact that an official charting the top 13 women at the 22-mile mark never saw her pass his checkpoint.

Sunday, Ortiz was disqualified from the 16th running of the L.A. Marathon after finishing 18th in 2 hours 35 minutes 43 seconds. Race officials did not believe Ortiz ran the entire distance because electronic sensors placed along two points on the course failed to detect the microchip attached to his shoe at the start of the race and at the halfway point.

In addition, Ortiz’s time at the 10-kilometer mark was slower than one would expect for a person running a 2:35 marathon.

Last year, Ortiz crossed the finish line in 11th place, but his time of 2:27:33 was questioned because it would have smashed the U.S. age-50 record by nearly seven minutes. He was later disqualified because he was not detected at three of the four checkpoints along the course.

Sunday, Basil Honikman, the referee for the L.A. Marathon, questioned the validity of Ortiz’s time shortly after he finished because it was again extremely fast for his age group.

“Basil noticed it,” said Laurence Cohen, media relations director for the L.A. Marathon. “He said, ‘Let’s look into it.’ And he made the determination that it wasn’t right.”

Honikman, a veteran marathon referee, disqualified Ortiz after it was determined that there was no evidence that he started the race or passed the halfway point, where electronic sensors picked up a signal from a microchip that each runner was required to wear on one of his or her shoes during the race.

The microchips, which have been in use at the L.A. Marathon since 1996, are embedded in a Velcro strip that each runner attaches to his shoe.

Sensors were located at the start and finish of Sunday’s race, as well as at points at approximately six, 13 and 19 miles.

“Occasionally, the sensors will not pick up a runner at the start of the race,” Honikman said. “But that happens less than 1% of the time. And they are very accurate along the course.”

Cohen added: “If someone misses two or more tracking stations during the course of their race, their results are called into question.”

Ortiz could not be reached for comment. He had 24 hours to appeal his disqualification, according to Honikman, but it wasn’t known if he had done so. He did not appeal his disqualification last year.

Cohen estimated that “up to 10” runners a year are typically disqualified from a marathon with 20,000 or more entrants.