The Republican candidate for Vice-President, Paul Ryan, has been getting it in the neck for lying about his best marathon time, and I'm afraid that "lying" is the right word. As an ex-marathoner I can say that one simply does NOT forget something like this. I myself have forgotten how many marathons I ran back in the 'eighties - was it five or six? - and I have even forgotten in which year I ran my fastest marathon, but I am not likely to forget where it was was and what my time was.*
At the same time, it is very human to embellish one's past (though I think Paul Ryan is a bit young for that sort of thing). For instance, I played golf fairly regularly when I lived in England but after all these years I am no longer sure what my real handicap actually was. However, that has not prevented me from slowly reducing it and the last time somebody inquired it had got as low as six. This must be one of the few instances of someone's sporting prowess improving through lack of practice.
3 hours 7 minutes, Neuf-Brisach
At the same time, it is very human to embellish one's past (though I think Paul Ryan is a bit young for that sort of thing). For instance, I played golf fairly regularly when I lived in England but after all these years I am no longer sure what my real handicap actually was. However, that has not prevented me from slowly reducing it and the last time somebody inquired it had got as low as six. This must be one of the few instances of someone's sporting prowess improving through lack of practice.
3 hours 7 minutes, Neuf-Brisach
Greetings Barnaby
ReplyDeleteMy view of American politicians has not been high for some while but this man's apparent public and silly exaggeration of his marathon time does nothing to improve that view.
Of course one might not be sure of the exact time as in earlier times, clocks were already going when many actually started and precise start times were only confirmed for all in recent Marathons so an 'improvement' to the nearest quarter of an hour might be understandable. However improving his time by so much and in public is hardly going to endear him or his party to voters. I would have thought that most voters would be positive about a candidate who had run a full Marathon without being bothered about the time anyway.
Point well made, Jerry. I do remember at the Paris Marathon having to walk for quite some time before we could break into a trot! That was why some of us, anxious to improve our times, enrolled for the smaller marathons where you could at least be sure of running from the outset!
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