How Michigan Dentist Cheated His Way To Marathon Victories

Michigan dentist Kip Litton.

Kip Litton is a Michigan dentist who suddenly catapulted to the rank of top marathon runner. The only catch was that after a year or two of running sub-three hour marathons, his competitors started wondering why they never saw him on the course.

His performances sparked debate in the running community, and eventually led to convincing evidence that the man behind the incredible performances was a fraud. Mark Singer chronicles the fall of Kip Litton in his New Yorker article “Marathon Man: A Michigan Dentist’s Improbable Transformation.”

Guest:

Mark Singer, journalist

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

J__o__h__n

Did he have a faster time than Paul Ryan?
- Rex Henry
  
  Considering both lied about it, yes…and no.
- Bill_Abendroth
  
  Considering that Paul Ryan’s marathon time is two minutes faster than my PR, I just wish people would stop calling that time “ordinary.”
  - stlcelticfan
    
    I know, right. I ran a 3:45 and think anything around a 4 is pretty decent.
- Karyn
  
  Actually, both Ryan and Litton said they ran about the same times. Ryan later admitted that he ran about an hour and 20 minutes slower. Litton has never admitted anything.
  –Karyn, Here and Now Producer
- HaircutterRomney
  
  Sasha, epic fail! You didn’t even mention Paul Ryan’s marathon lie!!! It would have made this story much more interesting — why do people lie about their marathon times? Disappointed!!!!!
  - stlcelticfan
    
    If you are going to bring up Paul Ryan, then make it equal and mention the fact that John Kerry was never able to prove he ran one at all.
    - Yooj
      
      Good point – I definitely won’t vote for John Kerry for president in this year’s election.
- JJS
  
  His wife & kids all confirmed that they were at these races, including the Wyoming Marathon, and that he did not cheat. They said he didn’t even have access to a bike or a car there. They also told me he didn’t change clothes, just removed outer layers. I guess it makes for a more sensational story to leave these facts out. Pretty cruel though.
  - Steve Geller
    
    There are pictures of Kip where he changed not only hats, but shoes. That is not just removing the outer layers. And do really believe that Kip brought his kids around the country to all his races?
  - C W
    
    “His wife & kids all confirmed that they were at these races, including the Wyoming Marathon, and that he did not cheat”
    
    Hahahahahahahhahhahhaahahahahahahahahahha ok.
BHA_in_Vermont

There goes his dental practice. I surely would not patronize the business of a liar and a cheat.
- J__o__h__n
  
  At least you don’t have to feel bad when you lie to him about how often you floss.
Kath Mack

Love the comments. I never have and never will understand why people lie about things that can be easily verified. BHA_in_Vermont said he wouldn’t patronize this Dentist – then what about Paul Ryan? Do we want someone who appears to be a pathological liar (in my humble opinion) as our VP?
Bill_Abendroth

In the article in The New Yorker, Mr. Singer points out that Dr. Litton not only runs sub three hour marathons, but also stops and changes his clothes sometimes during the race. That’s not possible, unless you have someone supporting you, providing you with clothes somewhere en route. More to the point, though, how many people stop to change their clothes, while running sub-seven minute miles? HINT: it rhymes with “zero.”

What’s especially appalling to me, is that Dr. Litton cheated at Boise’s City of Trees Marathon, one of the nicest small marathons I’ve ever run…..That’s just despicable…….
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=505458830 Renee Lieburn

lying must come easy for him, i’m sure he still tells his patients fluoride is good for you and amalgam fillings are really safe too.
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003000884786 Navin R Johnson
  
  Amalgam fillings ARE safe and fluoride IS beneficial. If you disagree with that, you disagree with the scientific method.
- C W
  
  Hahah, THE DENTAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. Kip and you are both alike in madness.
Circusmcgurkus

On the phony West Wyoming marathon cite, there is an entry from “K.L. from Ff” that says, “Race was great. I PRed by hanging with the leader. We sipped Cokes together while driving point-to-point. Highly recommended.” The poster says s/he participated in more than 50 marathons…”K.L.” = Kip Litton? “Ff” = Fantastic fabricator? Driving point to point? And the entry from “R.R” who never knew s/he could run so fast…Richard Rodriguez a/k/a Litton?

How did Singer miss this? Like the arsonist who goes back to watch the fire…

Not making this up – here’s the link:
http://www.marathonguide.com/races/racedetails.cfm?MIDD=3777100703
- Jonashville
  
  When I read the comments from WestWyoming, knowing it was fiction, I thought they were funny. One says that he had a toothache & the marathon organizer helped him with it. (I’m not a runner but heard Singer on NPR & got sucked in. I’m fascinated by hoaxes.) I guess Singer would have explored whether this all was Litton’s idea of a joke or prank…?
  - Circusmcgurkus
    
    True, but I read the whole article in the New Yorker and it did not explore this at all. Singer did discern that the site was fake and that there was no marathon. But, knowing that the site was a complete fabrication, one would think the posts would have been dissected and they really weren’t. I agree, the comments were funny. But, telling. The truest things are said in jest…
    - Crazyflipflops
      
      Dude, those comments were made by people from the LetsRun forum, making fun of Kip and his cheating ways… AFTER they had busted Kip for fabricating the race & website. The comments were not made by Kip, buy they were well earned.
peter

My favorite comment from the West Wyoming Marathon runner comments: “Beautiful course. Race went by so quickly that it was almost like I didn’t run.”

:-D
stalkinghorse

I’m flabbergasted by this story. Not that someone would cheat and deceive others, but at the level of self-deception that also took place. Man’s ability to delude himself is extraordinary.
- CC
  
  While enjoying a fascinating read on the New Yorker I couldn’t help thinking this Litton guy has a pathological disorder: narcissistic or self-delusional disorder? Not that uncommon. I’d be stunned if Litton was assessed and was found to not have ‘something’.
  
  Anyway, as I said, a fascinating read which I’ve recommended to a number of friends here in Australia.
Quentin

The greater question is why do we humans cheat in the first place? Why do we lie, cheat, steal… in fact kill, murder etc etc – why are we a brutal, selfish, mean species and not the ideal, moral, selfless? I know this takes the issue (article) from the gossip-y, superficial ‘news story’ that we all love to read – but why is that too! Why do we love reading about why somebody else behaves immorally – when really we all lie and cheat. Until we answer and understand the real reason behind our behaviors we are going to be writing, reading and talking about everybody else’s problems under every circumstance forever. Biologist J Griffith goes right to the heart of the issue (http://www.worldtransformation.com/why-do-people-lie/) of our corrupted state, describing it as a whole as ‘our human condition’ – the conflict in us to reconcile our good and evil natures – are we good or are we bad? The good news is, the answer is that we are fundamentally good – biologically – and there’s a good reason why we ‘appear’ ‘bad’, why we cheat, lie and the rest of it. This is really what the news should be reporting on, this is what will really find us the answers.
Todd J

Also interesting (and perhaps incriminating) is the comment on the MarathongGuide.com page on the West Wyoming Marathon that says: “This course is truly a runner’s dream! I would like to thank Rich Rodriguez
for all of his efforts to make this possible. I had a toothache that I was
unable to get attended to before the race, but Rich helped with that as well. He
is amazing! What are the odds that Kip Litton and Richard Rodriguez would BOTH be dentists? And why would a runner make a point of talking about a toothache in his race comments? Kip Litton is something else. World’s greatest liar.
- http://twitter.com/dmdoc Bill Quick
  
  Todd: “Richard Rodriguez” was the name Kip used as the director of the non-existent WWM. Kip also apparently ran some races earlier using this name. There really is a separate RR, who was a coach at UofM when Kip was there:�
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Rodriguez
  
  The comment at MG.com about Rich is most likely from a sarcastic reader, rather than someone who “ran” in the non-existent WWM. I wouldn’t blame Kip for that comment…
  
  Bill
  wrr @ swq.com
  http://worldrecordrun.com/
Bob3232

I’m 37 years old. Kip has been my dentist since i was 11. I could care less if he’s a good runner, a fake runner, or a prankster. He’s a fantastic dentist.