Boson Marathon - Woman Who 'Won' Last Years Foot Race - Wins Again - Claims 'Body Shaming' By Critics

The persistent runner who came in first place last year at the Boson Marathon on President's Day has crossed the finish line again as the Women's Winner.

When people said that it was hard to believe that the some-what over weight woman was the winner of a marathon, or even a runner, defenders responded with claims of 'fat shaming.'

A spokeswoman for the 26.2-mile race confirmed to the Boson Globe on Monday that Amy Clarke’s results are under review, though she wouldn’t offer a specific reason.

Clarke, who denies cheating at the Boson event, crossed the finish line Sunday after almost three hours, at 2:59:08. But the red flag came after she drastically changed pace midway through the race as recorded by GPS trackers embedded in the runners number bibs. 

While some people respond to the cheating with a 'who cares' attitude others point out that not only does Clarke raise money through crowd funding to pay for trips around the country she also gets funds from the Boson City Women's Empowerment Fund set up by City Council President Ema Strickland.  Tax money is being used to fund a running fraud.

When asked about the controversy and the misuse of city funds, Councilor Strickland responded, "I don't know the facts in this case, but the first thing I do in any situation like this is repeat the cardinal rule, 'Believe Women!" 

Clarke was disqualified from last month’s AppleTree Half Marathon in Vancouver, Washington, where she had been the second-place female finisher, the Marathon Investigation reported. It turned out that she had biked the majority of the course, according to a statement she shared with the website at the time.

The woman had initially claimed the woman on the bike was her “twin sister,” but later confessed to disposing of the bike before running across the finish line, The Columbian newspaper reported.

Clarke’s statement went even further as she admitted to making two cuts in the Chicago Marathon course in 2013 and cheating again in at least three other races. She blamed her actions on an anxiety disorder.

At the Boson Marathon on Sunday, 16 February 2020,  a number of people reported seeing a woman who looked like Amy Clarke leave the race and get on a bicycle.  Others reported seeing Clarke getting on the T at North Wollaston Station in her running outfit with a number bib on.

People joked as she passed through the station, "What?  Are you Rosie Ruiz."

Rosie Ruiz was a woman who was pushed to run in the Boston Marathon in 1980 after being mistakenly given a very good running time in the NYC Marathon.  Ruiz simply got on the Green Line trolley and went to the finish line to run across and inadvertently became the first woman to cross the finish line.

 https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xwweod

But the woman attributed Sunday’s inconsistent splits to two asthma attacks she claims to have experienced during the race.

“This meant I had to stop and sit on the side of the course for a chunk of time and that I had to walk at other times,” she told The Boson Globe in an email. “The friends who were out there to support me can attest to that. I was badly wheezing and used their inhaler at the halfway point.”

Clarke, however, acknowledged that her results do seem suspicious.

“While I understand that such inconsistent splits and the recent article lead to suspicion, the truth is simple and I have friends who can attest to it,” she wrote.