“As long as I was conscious, I was going to finish.”
Still, if your gaping head wound requires a second person to stem the bleeding, it’s probably better to call it a day.
Categories: What's New Tags: james l. smith, los angeles marathon
Roll Us Both Down a Mountain and I’m Sure the Fat Man Would Win
Former U.S. Sumo champion Kelly Gneiting seeks a world record none of us (I hope) will ever approach. He wants to be the heaviest person to complete a marathon.
The current record is 275 pounds. Gneiting completed the race in 2008 with a chip time of 11:48:16, but his weight was not documented at the time. He says he weighed 430 pounds.
At his current weight of 410 pounds, Gneiting would squash the record, no matter how long it took him to cover the distance.
If he runs in this outfit, he’s gonna need a crate of BodyGlide.
Categories: Outpost of the Odd Tags: kelly gneiting, los angeles marathon, sumo
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.
Categories: What's New Tags: alanis morissette, celebrities, gordon ramsay, los angeles marathon, sean astin, shia labeouf, the rock
Running Quote of the Month
Los Angeles City Council member Tom LaBonge is leading an effort to move the Los Angeles Marathon back to a Sunday in March. The race is on Memorial Day this year because churches along the route complained worshippers couldn’t make it to services. In support of his motion, LaBonge said:
If you were running down the street and Jesus was on the corner and he was running to church, he’d bring water out to you — keep you cool.
Even better, it would be wine if He brought it out to you!
Categories: What's New Tags: jesus, los angeles marathon, Tom LaBonge
