From Rocky To Ruiz?
April 12, 2001
If you've spent much time browsing the results of the 2001
Men's Birkie, you've probably noticed the incredible 31st
place finish by a wave 5 skier, Marty Baumann, from Marysville,
Washington. The 31st place finish meant that Marty had to
pass nearly 2000 skiers while skiing through the same deep
snow conditions that forced most of the elite skiers to be
at least 30 minutes slower than their 1999 times. It becomes
all the more remarkable, considering Baumann went from a 4:13
time and 2438th overall in the 1999 Birkie to a 2:46 time
and 31st overall in 2001, cutting nearly an hour and half
off his time (two hours if you consider the slower conditions).
This kind of performance, especially jumping up to the top
50, is what a lot of us "Joe Average" skiers dream about doing
one day!
But maybe it was just that, a dream?
Flashback to the 1980 Boston Marathon: a woman named Rosie
Ruiz came bolting across the finish line, surprised to find
out she was the first women's finisher. She seemed quite fresh
for someone completing a marathon, and didn't have the classic
physique of an elite level marathoner. Almost immediately
her result was questioned. None of the elite runners remembered
seeing her on the course. Then a story arose that she rode
the subway and simply jumped in, unnoticed, near the end of
the race. Eventually the Boston Marathon officials disqualified
her. Despite the allegations and ultimate disqualification,
Rosie stuck to her guns, contending that she did indeed run
the entire event.
Fast-forward to February 2001: shortly after the Birkie
Men's results were posted, a number of skiers cried foul at
Baumann's remarkable finish. The Birkie office began to examine
the issue more closely. The timing crew double-checked their
results, and found he did in fact finish shortly before noon,
a time that would dictate a sub-three hour performance. A
number of people on Main Street that morning agreed with the
timing folks, saying they saw Baumann come in before noon.
Meanwhile, we ran two inquiries from our web site and newsletter
on this topic. Surprisingly, not a single skier from the early
waves (elite, 1 or 2) specifically remembered seeing Baumann
on the course that morning. Many of those skiers wrote to
point out they had watched bibs closely, and did not see any
wave 5 skiers (even though their finishing times meant Baumann
should have passed them). Additionally, a short video clip
taken from the wave 5 start by race spectators was not able
to decisively place Baumann in this starting wave. However,
a couple of skiers from waves 3 and 4 did write to say they
saw a wave 5 skier pass them early on in the race (possibly
near the 9K split).
At the same time, the Birkie office had spoken with Marty
Baumann about the circumstances of his race performance. He
stood by his time, and even offered several details from the
race. One of the more interesting details that Baumann cited
was skiing with a "spikey-haired skier" for a good part of
the second half of the race. (See Mark
Parman's interview for more details.) After reviewing
photos of early finishers, a skier was found who matched the
description Baumann provided. The skier was identified as
Cheney Chang, a student from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Chang did not specifically remember skiing with Marty Baumann
(or any wave 5 skier), nor Baumann's assertion that Chang
dropped him when they reached Lake Hayward. This statement
by Baumann led Chang to start inquiring among his fellow skiers
if any of them had seen Baumann, possibly near Chang, during
the race.
One of these fellow skiers happened to be a top 30 Kortelopet
skier, who had not yet heard about the controversy surrounding
Marty Baumann's performance. Upon learning that Baumann was
from Washington state, he recalled an experience he had that
Birkie morning, now seemingly significant.
After finishing his 23km race at Telemark, the Kortelopet
skier boarded a bus shortly after 10 a.m. that was taking
skiers back to Hayward. On that bus he met a gentleman who
asked him about his Kortie time and finish. Upon hearing of
the top 30 placement, the gentleman proceeded to comment on
his own top Kortelopet finish -- with an even better time.
Surprised to hear this, especially given his companion's less
than typical appearance for a top racer, the Kortelopet skier
sat back and listened to more details. The gentleman mentioned
he was from Washington state, and provided details on his
life, including his job which involved working with orchids.
When the Kortie results came out, the Kortelopet skier searched
for the time of the gentleman with whom he'd spoken on the
bus back to Hayward, wondering about his remarkable finish.
Surprisingly, there was no skier from Washington state listed
in the top 200 of the Kortelopet.
Could it be that the man on the bus from Telemark to Hayward
was actually Marty Baumann? The Kortelopet skier could still
remember many details and the face of the gentleman he met
that day. After contacting the Birkie office, this skier was
able to identify Baumann from photographs. This Kortelopet
skier's story places Baumann on a bus shortly after 10 a.m.
Birkie morning, and not on the ski trail, where he should
have been had he skied the entire course.
The week of April 9th, the Birkie office, after a great
deal of consideration, moved to officially disqualify Marty
Baumann from the 2001 race. Unfortunately, the deadline for
updating the Birch Scroll had been missed, and thus Baumann
will remain in that set of printed results. The online results,
however, will reflect the removal.
In the end, it was Marty Baumann, himself who apparently
helped disprove his Birkie performance. His own story of skiing
with a "spikey-haired skier" led to Cheney Chang, and ultimately
the top 30 Kortelopet skier. According to the Kortie skier,
who subsequently identified Baumann's photo, it was Baumann's
own statements on the bus that morning that left a lasting
impression.
Ultimately, it appears that the Marty Baumann story may
indeed be very similar to the Rosie Ruiz story. Ruiz reportedly
took the subway to jump ahead, Baumann a bus. But there will
remain a lot of unanswered questions. How exactly would Baumann
get out onto the race course from Hayward unnoticed? And the
biggest question of all, why?
We'd like to thank all the skiers who sent in Birkie accounts.
We'd especially like to recognize Mark Parman, who helped
fill in many details and shared his interview with us, and
Cheney Chang, who was willing to provide many of the inside
details on how this whole event transpired. We also appreciate
how frustrating and exhausting the whole issue has been for
the Birkie office -- we wish them a much "quieter" Birkie
next year!
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