If the Republicans win the presidency by spending in the swing states like drunken yachtsmen then will SOMEONE finally admit that the electoral college, this vestige of patrician America, does such a collosal disserve to democracy when the winning party campaigns to LOSE the women vote, the gay and lesbian vote, the ethnic vote -- and the runner vote ! -- that it needs to be thrown on the ash heap of history and replaced by a system that at least attempts to be representative of the people.
How can Paul Ryan, the athlete/candidate for GOP vice-president who lied to an interviewer about his marathon time(s), (a) implying that he had run more than one, and (b) that he finished in the low-3's or high-2's, when he had, in fact, finished only one marathon in his life (at over 4 hours), be seen to be credible in anything?
This is the kind of thing that really pisses runners off. First, training to do something as punishing as running a 26.2 mile race is a humble pursuit. It is why marathon organizers bestow a medal on each and every FINISHER (as in, who the hell cares what time you managed; you just ran-walked-gutted through a 26.2-mile race course). In my case, I finished my first marathon in a Ryan-esque 4-plus hours, and then failed to finish my next two marathons ... Then I left racing, for 23 years, and at the 2010 Pittsburgh Marathon I surprised myself with a PR: 3:47:42; five months later I did even better: 3:33:18. Then, in 2012, at the road-baked Boston Marathon, I slowed to 4:03:27.
Runners know these figures off the top of their heads. Or if they don't, they simply say that they finished, which any normal person would regard as an amazing personal achievement all on its own.
Runners have a duty to convey that they believe Paul Ryan to be manifestly untrustworthy. Others may feel that Ryan-Romney will not serve their constituencies. But when it comes to Ryan, runners will see him for what he is: a shameless, self-promoting liar who you support at your own peril.
Next: Running for Your Life: Don't Stop
