So, Here's the Story

I promised a story yesterday, so here it is. I will not use the person's name in the re-telling. I don't think this person has started to read the blog, but if he/she does, here's to you pal. I have always thought this person was nice and still do. But sometimes the weirdest things come out of his/her mouth.


So I am filling up a bottle of water and this person says to me, "Hey, I didn't know you run marathons."

This person had no reason to think I run marathons, play softball, make baskets or go scuba diving. I don't make baskets nor do I go scuba diving. But anything is possible, right? No harm, no foul.

I respond with, "Yeah, I do." What else do you really say at that point? Here's where it gets good.

This person responds with, "Well, you don't have the body a marathon runner. You have a potbelly there."

Are you kidding me? Really? Now, I don't look like this:


But I'd like to think I am a fairly typical-looking male. For those of you who don't know what I look like, I am about 5'10" or 5'11" and come in around 180-185 pounds. I will probably get down to somewhere between 170-175 at the peak of marathon training. I have a little gut and some love handles, but I think that goes for a good chunk of the population, marathon runners included. Believe me, there's a large number of people who run marathons that come in all different shapes and sizes. Here's a picture of me running the last 1/4 mile of the Las Vegas Marathon in 2005:



So he/she turns and looks at the person who was standing near him/her and then says, "Look, now he's sucking it in. No, really I didn't know you ran."

What? Are you kidding me again?

I respond with, "Actually, I do pretty well. I have finished around the top 10% in some of my marathons."
Note: I finished 4487 in the '06 Chicago Marathon with a time of 3:30 . They allow 40,000 people to sign up, but usually only 35-36,000 start the race. About 33-34,000 finish the marathon. I finished 5140 in the '05 Chicago Marathon with a time of 3:38. You can check anyone's results on www.marathonguide.com
Go down about halfway down and you'll see "Quick Results Search." You can enter anyone's name in there who has run a marathon since 2000.

He/she seemed a little surprised and then mentioned that they haven't been to the donation site yet. So, he/she is aware of what we are trying to do here and the thing that comes to mind when he/she sees me is that I have a pot belly.

So, I'd like to think of this person as ignorant. I've run faster marathons than people who look like this person's idea of what real "runners" look like and have been beaten by people who are both shorter and heavier than I am. The point is that runners come in all different shapes and sizes. There is no typical looking marathon runner.

I'd also like to think of him/her as having a severe case of foot-in-mouth disease, not to be confused with hoof and mouth disease. I have heard crazy stuff come out of this person's mouth before, but I think this takes the cake. And lastly I'd thank this person for providing a little extra motivation for me and my "pot belly" to kick some ass on October 12th. I'll be thinking of this person when I pass skinnier runners right around mile 25.