On this Labor Day I ran a leisurely six miles. I thought about the uneven wear on the soles of my shoes, the new route that I made as I ran, and the quietness and stillness of the neighborhood with others either out of town or sleeping in. I also had that familiar feeling I get before a race: I would like to run the race and be finished with all this training. I don't have anything unusual to write about except for the revelation that Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan lied about his marathon finish time.
Instead of being angry this week, I spent time gathering information to be an enlightened participant in our democracy. I watched hours of the Republican National Convention and read news articles and blogs about what was said or not said. I plan to watch the Democratic National Convention this coming week and study the analysis.
Previously, I held back my commentary about Ryan so as to not be labeled that feminist, liberal, jogger, blogger chick, but now I've learned that Runner's World exposed Ryan for lying about his marathon prowess. I will comment on this. I read the news report, and then read the RW article and many RW readers' comments. I was surprised. My thinking was not unique. Not only was it not unique, runners were overwhelming condemning the falsehood.
Now, if you think of runners as a group are liberal elitists, know that the majority of my runner friends are definitely conservative. Every so often I would come across a Ryan supporter saying that we should give the guy a break on this one. And, something like why is RW delving into politics with what must be a hidden agenda? When the magazine published Sarah Palin's respectable marathon time, I don't recall any backlash on that report. I just remember it being a big motivator for me. Must ... beat... Palin... And, I did!
This is what RW reports in its Newswire from Aug. 31: "In an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt last week, Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan said he's run a sub 3:00 marathon." ... "When Hewitt asked Ryan what his personal best is, Ryan replied, "Under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something."
Ryan ran one marathon when he was 20 and is recorded as finishing in 4 hours, 1 minute, and 25 seconds.
Why would a much scrutinized politician, vying to be vice president, lie about a marathon finish time -- in a radio interview? What does this say about his character? What does this say about his ego? This news is just days after the convention when he looked squarely at the camera addressing the public and blamed President Obama for shuttering a factory in his hometown while President Bush was still in office. I know we've all grown cynical about politicians and sometimes forgive them too easily while they play politics, but this aggrandizing about his marathon time is downright dishonorable in the running community.
Non-runners might not understand what the big deal is about this lie. Finishing your first marathon is a huge accomplishment. Until that day, you have never run 26.2 miles, and you don't know if or how you can finish. Usually, one trains for months to achieve this goal. When you do achieve it, you know what your finish time is and where that falls in comparison to other runners, and more specifically, runners of your gender in your age group.
I understand that over 20 years of not competing in marathons, he probably forgot his exact finish time, but he knew the ballpark. Why didn't he just say he couldn't remember his time? To give such a specific time so much faster than his actual finish time is just a lie. Who would do that? That's like me telling the media and anyone listening that I was a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, when in fact, I was just a cheerleader at a small college. And, after my first marathon, I didn't call myself a marathon runner. I thought it was a fluke that I did it, even with the training, and waited until after my second marathon a year later to acknowledge that I was a marathoner. Ryan and I are more than just worlds apart politically.
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