I *really* need some help understanding the 'marathon time' swarms at DU.

[dane]

There are several OPs about this, and this is but one.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1246929
Newsjock (9,279 posts)

Kim Jong Ryan's actual marathon time confirmed: 4:01:25 
<snip>... In a statement issued to Runner's World by a spokesman Friday night, Ryan said of his marathon experience:

"The race was more than 20 years ago, but my brother Tobin—who ran Boston last year—reminds me that he is the owner of the fastest marathon in the family and has never himself ran a sub-three. If I were to do any rounding, it would certainly be to four hours, not three. He gave me a good ribbing over this at dinner tonight." 

Here's where I'm having the problem. In this statement I cannot find where Ryan said he ran a marathon in under three hours.  If the time were actually slightly more than four hours, and he rounded it to four hours, that looks accurate and reasonable. 

Is this the only reference to a marathon time, or is there a statement somewhere referring to an under three hour time, or are the DUmmies wadding their panties over a non-issue?


Or did I answer my own question?

[obumazombie]

^Yes

[Skul]

I've seen a variety of distance races called marathons.
Many organizers of the runs use the word just to denote a long run.
DUmpmonkeys are scratching for anything to be outraged over.
Idiots.

[ChuckJ]

He may have well said something along those lines. If it did happen 20 years ago, I can understand him forgetting his actual time. What I can't understand is a few years back when he said that he had already visited 57 states. He should really be taken to task for that.

Wait a minute...I got confused. I don't think Ryan was the one who said that about visiting 57 states. It was someone else. Maybe the DUmmies remember who it was.

[NHSparky]

Considering the only running most DUmmies do is the 30-yard perp dash before they get hit with the taser, let me enlighten the DUmmies on a few items.

Disclaimer: I have run several marathons and half-marathons.  PR for marathon: about 4:40 for LA Marathon in 2005.  

A 4-hour marathon would be at about a 9:09/mile pace.  Okay, run one mile in 9 minutes.  Easy, right?  

Now do 26 of them, back, to back, to back...and add shit like hills, traffic, weather, etc.  Yeah, you might START a marathon at a 9-minute pace, but I'm pretty ****ing sure you won't be running that kind of pace at the end, unless you're doing an average of 50-60 miles a week, and being coached while you do it, and plenty of support along the way.

Boston is a VERY special goal.  Anyone I've ever met who is into running regards running Boston as their crowning achievement.  Why, you ask?  Because not every dipshit yahoo who wants to can run Boston.  You have to QUALIFY for it, meaning you have to have run a marathon within the previous 18 months in under a certain time based on your age.

http://www.runtri.com/2008/07/race-boston-boston-marathon-qualifying.html

And oh yeah--they have to be certain "qualifier" races; running around the block 26 times and claiming a time won't work.  There are a few exceptions for charity entries, but that means you have to actually go out and raise a certain amount (I've heard $4-5K is about average.)  Now given that most of what ya'll raise will be pocketed by you for bong hits and Cheetos, that option is pretty much out, plus Boston is capped at around 27,000 entries and only about 6000 of those are charity, and let's face it, do you DUmmies really have the fortitude to train AND try to raise thousands of dollars for a charity that isn't YOU?

[Chris_]

Kim Jong Ryan

Someone is upset.

[Tess Anderson]

They're the ones that make statues to their leaders at their convention.

This "Paul Ryan is a liar" is just their latest BS in their attempt to give their messiah a second term.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021250543
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021250539
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021250041

and that's just the ones at the top of page one, big hive attack.

[GOBUCKS]

Kim Jong Ryan

That's actually pretty good.

If you haven't heard about Kim Jong il's amazing golf round, check this out:

In golf, the gold standard for quitting while you’re ahead was always considered to be Bobby Jones.

The legendary amateur retired from competitive golf at age 28 after winning all four of the sport’s major championships — at the time, a Grand Slam consisting of the U.S. and British Opens, and the U.S. and British Amateurs — in 1930.

But then, along came Kim Jong-il and one incredible day in 1994, when the Dear Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea picked up a golf club for the very first time, and — as witnessed by 17 security guards and reported by the state news agency — shot a smooth 38-under-par round of 34, including 11 holes-in-one.

And never again played the game.

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/12/19/cam-cole-remembering-kim-jong-ils-golf-skills/

The guy was just a natural, I guess.

[obumazombie]

^It was miniature golf. For a miniature guy.

[GOBUCKS]

^It was miniature golf. For a miniature guy.

Nope, it was a par 72 championship course, one of many in Norko.

He also ran the Pyongyang Marathon in one hour flat.

[Jasonw560]

Nope, it was a par 72 championship course, one of many in Norko.

He also ran the Pyongyang Marathon in one hour flat.

Didn't he also pitch a perfect game and hit a grand slam in the same game for the N. Korean national team?

[formerlurker]

Apparently it wasn't seared seared seared into his memory...

[MrsSmith]

How horrible, that a guy could forget the time of a race he ran 20 years ago.  Unbelievable.  Of course, the current resident of our White House "forgot" that he was a native when he received "foreign student" aid, but that's not anything compared to misstating your time in something actually important, like a footrace.


  just in case it's needed 

[NHSparky]

http://news.runnersworld.com/2012/08/31/paul-ryan-says-hes-run-sub-300-marathon/

Ryan isn't the first aspirant for national office to make a hard-to-verify claim about having run a marathon. John Kerry came under scrutiny when he ran for president in 2004 for saying that he'd run the Boston Marathon.

The November 2004 issue of Runner's World reported that Kerry had run Boston in the 1970s but gave no supporting details. ESPN looked into the claim and wound up concluding "there's no official record of his feat, and his campaign did not provide further details despite repeated inquiries."

I'm sure Kerry just "misplaced" it next to his SF-180.

[jukin]

How do you say "marathon" in Austrian?

[GOBUCKS]

Didn't he also pitch a perfect game and hit a grand slam in the same game for the N. Korean national team?

You may be thinking of Castro. North Korea stopped playing baseball several years ago. They only had one ball, and someone boiled it and ate it.

[obumazombie]

How do you say "marathon" in Austrian?

Breathalyzer...pronounced like it's spelled.