Story behind Ryan's 'marathon' lie...
Any of us who aspire to be runners know what we can, and what we can't
get away with. Running is a discipline.. unlike politics, that demands total
honesty with oneself and others...
Paul Ryan? Not so much...
"When Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan said during an August radio interview that he once ran a marathon in less than three hours, North Carolina runner Bill Walker was impressed, but wanted more details.
The 63-year-old attorney, who has run four sub-three-hour marathons since college, posted a simple question on a message board for LetsRun.com, a national online forum for runners. "In an Aug. 22 interview by Hugh Hewitt, Representative Ryan said he had run a marathon in 'two hour and fifty something,'" Walker wrote on the message board. "Does anyone know the marathon and the year?"
In little time, hundreds of skeptical runners on the message board started questioning Ryan's claim that his best marathon time was "two hour and fifty something." The thread went viral. The day after Walker posted his question, Runner's World writer Scott Douglas started examining it. Turns out Ryan never ran a marathon in that time; a campaign spokesman was forced to walk back the comment.
And it all started with one question on a message board...."
tp://www.letsrun.com/2012/bill-walker-0912.php
I want to thank the original runner who raised the question,
thank the folks on Letsrun.com, and Runner's World Magazine... who has garnered
from me a massive multi-year subscription for their honesty.
Let the world know what Ryan is made of...
and let's keep the sport honest...
and also.. politics.