Posts Tagged ‘celebrities’

Big News! Prince William and Kate Middleton Are NOT Running the London Mile

I love celebrity running news – or not-news, which is what you call all those stories that come out until an actual reporter checks the facts.

“Kate Middleton to Run the London Mile with Prince William”

“Prince William and Kate Middleton To Run Sports Relief Mile”

“Prince William And Kate Middleton To Jog Through London For Sport Relief”

“Kate Middleton and Prince William set to run Sport Relief 2012 mile”

“Prince William and Kate Middleton ‘set to run London Mile for Sport Relief’”

“Kate Middleton set to run Sport Relief Mile, we anticipate her glam workout wardrobe”

“Kate Middleton and Prince William’s Royal run for Sport Relief”

“Kate Middleton and Prince William to do a charity run for Sport Relief”

Just one problem. No one bothered to check with the Prince or Kate or their representatives at Clarence House, which is where they reside. That is, until royal correspondent Victoria Arbiter did:

Just had confirmation from Clarence House that William + Kate are not participating in #SportRelief and so are not running a mile.

— Victoria Arbiter (@victoriaarbiter) January 19, 2012

Oh well, we all know that Pippa is the runner, anyway.

Celebrity Running News

Competitor does speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno a disservice with the headline, “Apolo Ohno Goes Sub 2 Hours in First Half Marathon.” Ohno ran a 1:40:59 at the Chicago Half Marathon.

Former softball star Jennie Finch will be running the New York City Marathon and starting at the back of the pack. Timex will donate $1 to the New York Road Runners youth programs for every person she passes, just as it did for football player Amani Toomer last year. Finch ran a half-marathon in January. (Her T-shirt reads, “This seemed like a good idea 3 months ago.”)

The Biggest Loser TV show traditionally has its four finalists run a marathon as its very last challenge, but this year it will open the race to all contestants, even the ones who have been previously eliminated.

Scarlett Johansson: Celebrity Minimalist

Note: Due to ongoing technical difficulties, the Carnival of Running will appear tomorrow. Thank you for your indulgence.

If you’re in the celebrity news business, you can wring three stories out of one paparazzi photo, properly cropped.

This story tells us that actress Scarlett Johansson is not pregnant, despite what appears to be the beginnings of a baby bump.

This story restores the runner cropped out of the first photograph and highlights the buddy relationships.

While this story focuses on Johansson’s stunning pink Vibram Five Fingers, and launches from there into a history of barefoot running.

The “Stars” Come Out at the Los Angeles Marathon

Two weeks ago, the Los Angeles Marathon brought out the crowds, the celebrities and the Hollywood press, and the combination was more entertaining than the race itself.

The first thing to note is that our concept of “celebrity” seems to be ever expanding, since most of the celebrities who took part in the race were in fact stars of “reality” TV shows. Nevertheless, it was enough to generate a slew of stories and blog posts.

The headliner was Shia LaBeouf, star of the Transformers movies and co-conspirator in the worst Indiana Jones movie. He was the most photographed, but his 4:35 finish prompted some criticism of his lack of speed.

Perhaps he was too mellow because he was listening to Tibetan monk chants while running. To his credit, Shia ran to benefit U.S. Vets, which provides assistance to homeless veterans.

Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin ran a 5:16. (Did anyone chant “Rudy! Rudy!” at the finish?)

Hell’s Kitchen star and veteran marathoner Gordon Ramsay was forced to drop out at about mile 15 due to a calf injury, though that didn’t stop Access Hollywood with crediting him with a 3:36 finish.

Singer Alanis Morissette registered and ran in the race, but either didn’t finish or forgot to wear her chip.

And among the celebrity spectators were director Rob Reiner, actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus and large Samoan-American Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

But if you want to know what the race itself was like, don’t bother with all those articles. The best account comes from our own celebrity marathoner, Danica the Chic Runner, who combined a strong race, a detailed photo-essay, and a series of firefighter-gropings into an outstanding blog post.

Usain Bolt Likes Fast Women

Eager to join the ranks of celebrity athletes who are calamities waiting to happen, world record sprinter Usain Bolt is reportedly dating Taneish Simpson, best known (?) as Lava from the VH1 reality series, For the Love of Ray J.

Bolt’s publicist refused to comment on the story, but Simpson provides periodic blurbs on her Twitter account. I wonder what he sees in her…

…perhaps it’s their mutual interest in high fashion…

…although I have to admit in this age of combining the names of celebrity couples (Brangelina, TomKat) you can’t do much better than LavaBolt.

How the Chic Set Is Marathoning This Year

Why do I waste my time reading Runner’s World, when Women’s Wear Daily has the real scoop on how to properly train for a marathon?

Designer Yigal Azrouel says he eats “lots of carbs and protein, but I started off with Kathy Freston’s Quantum Wellness Cleanse.”

Executive chef Olivier Muller plans a post-race brunch with “some cheeses, charcuterie, coq au vin and short ribs,” but model Veronica Webb will settle for “a pedicure and a margarita.”

Socialite Jennifer Creel loves her “zip-front jacket from Ralph Lauren,” while “man-about-town” Euan Rellie has made some serious sacrifices: “I have not smoked a cigarette for three months. And I have generally, but not totally, avoided the Boom Boom Room.”

Alanis Morissette Joins the Celebrity Marathoner List

Singer Alanis Morissette completed her first marathon last Sunday in a time of 4:17:03, which placed her 164th in a field of 360. The Bizz Johnson Trail Marathon starts a mile-high in the Lassen National Forest in northern California, but is a net downhill race.

Morissette ran to raise money for the National Eating Disorders Association and called her first marathon experience “truly beautiful and electric and traumatic and exciting and horrifying and surreal and moving and unforgettable.”

Another participant wrote:

I was running behind a woman for awhile with “life, nature, love” on her singlet, but never paid another glance.  It turned out later that this was Alanis Morissette running her first marathon – and she was totally focused on her own music and pace (honestly, she looked pretty strong).

She’s also smiling in all her race photos (scroll to the bottom of this web page), which is annoying for those of us who always look like Grim Death.