Saturday, September 08, 2012

The Marathon Meter


Celebrity Marathon Meter
NameRaceYearKnown as
2:03:38Patrick Makau MusyokiBerlin2008World Record
2:46:03Alan TuringAmateur Athletic Championships1947Mathematician
2:46:42Lance ArmstrongNYC2007Cyclist
2:50:53David PetraeusOmaha1982Commander in Iraq
3:01:18Max BaucusGovernor's Cup1982Senator, Ambassador to China
3:16:00Harry ReidBoston1972Senator
3:30:18John EdwardsMCM1983Senator
3:31:00Michael DukakisBoston1951Governor of Massachusetts
3:38:01 Edward Norton NYC 2009 Actor
3:44:52George W BushHouston199343rd US President
3:52:57Hilary TsuiHong Kong2015Entertainer
3:55:46Edison ChenHong Kong2012Entertainer
3:56:12Will FerrellBoston2003Actor
3:58:44Eliot SpitzerNYC1983Governor of New York
3:59:36Sarah PalinHumpy's2005Governor of Alaska
4:01:25Paul RyanGrandma's1991VP Candidate
4:10:17 Haruki Murakami NYC 2005 Writer
4:26:05Mike HuckabeeLittle Rock2006Governor of Arkansas
4:29:20Oprah WinfreyMCM1994Talk Show Host
4:34:18Lisa LingBoston2001TV Host
4:45:36Jennifer AmyxJohnstown19755 Years Old
4:54:36Bill FristMCM1997Senate Majority Leader
4:58:25Al GoreMCM1997Vice President
5:29:58Katie HolmesNYC2007Wife of Tom Cruise
5:40:03Fauja SinghToronto200392 Years Old
6:06:00David PatersonNYC1999NY Governor, legally blind

Note, list updated with Paul Ryan's 1991 personal record (PR). Ryan claimed he ran close to 2:50, but was caught cheating before his next blink, unsurprisingly. Runners are extremely sensitive to their own PRs, as well as others'.

John Kerry stumbled in his presidential campaign when he told reporters that he had run (along) Boston marathon, but forgot his result. The problem is that a runner never forgets his results.

Overall, Democrats are faster (John Edward) and tougher (David Paterson), while Republicans score on diversity (Sarah Palin).

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