Give a guy a break...

I didn't know what to blog about today, but lucky me, I happened to come across some "controversy" surrounding a Biggest Loser contestant's marathon run. Seriously? People are that upset over it that they're creating controversy?

Apparently, the guy accepted a three-mile ride (but later went back and ran three miles that same day) after being told he had to keep up a pace to finish the marathon in six hours when he'd been planning to finish in 7 or 8. Now people are saying that he should give his finisher's medal back, blah blah blah.

I know that if I had to suddenly run at a quicker pace than I planned, I'd for damn sure be ready to accept a ride at some point or another. Not to mention, I've heard that lots of people hit a wall toward the end of a marathon, so I'm guessing lots of other people would accept a ride if given a chance. The other problem was that the clock read 3:53 instead of 5:53, but that's not really his fault, now is it? I can see how having people see something like that might discourage other runners who aren't as fast or haven't made progress as quickly as this particular person--but that's my favorite thing about running. Unless you're crazy awesome, the only person you really have to compete against is yourself. Or in my case, myself and sometimes an elderly man that runs toward the back of the pack.

But come on now people, the dude ran 23 freaking miles and has lost 140 pounds. I'd say he's worthy of a finisher's medal.