Kevin Goodman.JPG

Kevin Goodman, managing director and partner at BlueBridge Networks, is an avid runner who raises money for charity. He says he completed last year's Boston Marathon in 3:03:14. But race officials now say they have no record of his time. Also, the Ohio Canal Corridor, which sponsors the Towpath Marathon, has retroactively nullified Goodman's results in its 2012 and 2013 races. This action followed an investigation sparked by complaints from other runners. Goodman says he ran the races in the times he's reported. But he accepts the race officials' decisions.

(Peggy Turbett, The Plain Dealer)

Soon after two bombs exploded at last year's Boston Marathon, Cleveland businessman and runner Kevin Goodman shared with local media outlets his account of the day's events – and the personal record he set.

Goodman, managing partner of Cleveland's BlueBridge Networks, which offers cloud-computing services, reported completing the 26.2-mile race in 3:03.14, a very competitive time for a 50-year-old.

The University Heights resident recalled recovering in his hotel bathtub about an hour later when he heard two homemade bombs detonate on Boylston Street near the finish line, turning a day normally celebrated for athletic achievement into one of tragedy.

He got dressed, called home and hit the streets to help, assisting with "some pretty radical tourniquet scenarios," according to a Sun Newspaper account of his story.

But nearly a year later, the association that manages the Boston Marathon offers a different account, one in which no record exists of Goodman running the race and certainly not in 3:03:14.

Marc Davis, a spokesman for the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) told me this week that Goodman was registered to compete in the marathon but the BAA has no record of Goodman actually starting or finishing. The BAA tracks runners with a small electronic device known as a chip. The device is affixed to their race number and transmits timing information via radio frequency.

And since the Boston race, the Ohio Canal Corridor – the organizer of the popular Towpath Marathon in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park -- has retroactively nullified Goodman's results in its 2012 and 2013 races. This action followed an investigation sparked by allegations from other runners that Goodman's times were not accurate.

This is significant because Goodman used his finish at the 2012 Towpath Marathon to gain entry into the 2013 Boston Marathon.

The Boston Marathon is not a fun run. It is among the best-known and most competitive marathons in the world, challenging runners with rolling hills in the final miles. Only elite athletes can compete in it. To get in the race, runners have to prove themselves a year or so before by completing a marathon within tough time standards pegged to runners' ages and set by the BAA.

Goodman ran the 2012 Towpath in 3:12:50, according to chip information recorded at the finish line, easily meeting his qualifying standard. Goodman submitted the result to the BAA.

All was well until Goodman ran the Towpath Marathon again last November. He placed first in his age division and fourth overall with an impressive time of 3:01:28, according to his chip data. But after he accepted his award, runners complained to the Ohio Canal Corridor that in the final miles of the race they had not seen Goodman in front of Patrick Occhino of Buffalo, N.Y., who placed fifth overall.

Tim Donovan, executive director of the Ohio Canal Corridor, told me race officials reviewed photographs of the frontrunners, interviewed volunteers and concluded – based on circumstantial evidence – that Goodman did not finish fourth. Towpath officials never determined what happened, but the complaint also prompted them to question Goodman's 2012 finish.

Donovan said that when he called Goodman about the investigation, Goodman immediately withdrew his finish times in both the 2012 and 2013 marathons. The Ohio Canal Corridor then disqualified Goodman in both races and removed his name from the official online results.

Donovan won't speculate on what happened.

"The woods could lend themselves to those who want to create mischief," Donovan said. "We depend on the honesty of the runners."

Goodman is a cancer survivor, which has influenced his lifestyle and charitable works. He competes in races and triathlons to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Through his races, he's raised more than $100,000 for the organization, and he has been honored in Cleveland and Boston. The Plain Dealer and Crain's Cleveland Business, among other media and professional organizations, have recognized him for his volunteer efforts.

Goodman actually gained a spot in the 2012 Boston Marathon through his fundraising efforts for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. The BAA holds a small percentage of spots specifically for athletes running for charity. That year, Goodman completed the marathon in around five hours, according to BAA records. That's nearly two hours slower than the time Goodman says he ran in 2013.

When contacted by telephone this week, Goodman told me he has "absolutely" run all the marathons in the times he reported but accepts race officials' decisions "that these times are not official." And he did not question the BAA's assessment.

Goodman said he runs races for the mental and physical challenges and for charity. He said he doesn't care about racing or being timed. He said that several years ago he stopped wearing the chips.

"Racing and running are two different things and the official time is not important to me," he said.

This is a puzzling explanation given that Goodman noted his personal record in the Boston Marathon in at least three publications. And he wore chips in both Towpath races, according to original race results.

"I was not aware there was a chip," he said in an email sent in response to my follow-up questions about the Towpath races. " I was notified of my disqualification, and I accepted the same without argument."

When pressed in my phone interview, Goodman said, "In retrospect, I'd go back and make sure I had the chip. ... I apologize for not following the rules. ... I'm not ashamed that I'm not timed, and I'm not ashamed that it is not official. I don't have to be a champion."

Goodman is returning to Boston later this month for the 118th Boston Marathon. But he's not running the marathon. He's running in the related 5K (3.1 mile) race on April 19. He again is raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. At the moment, he's raised $3,300 toward his $10,000 goal.