P. Diddy

Since this hasn't been the most productive week training-wise, I thought "hey, let's give 'em somethin' to talk about."

Naturally, the best way to get people talkin' is by presenting them with some facts. So I did a little research.

Here are some interesting facts about marathons:

* Historically, the tradition of the marathon began after the battle of Marathon in ancient Greece in 490 B.C. With a victory over the Persians, a messenger was sent to Athens (22 miles from Marathon) to announce the good news to all those gorgeous Greeks. After running this distance, Pheidippides, the messenger, squeaked out the words "Greetings, we win!" and then dropped dead. Needless to say, this story gets me really psyched up.
* The majority of female marathon runners are ages 25-29 years.
* The average woman burns 2,880 calories during 26.2 miles.
* 4:32 is the average time in which U.S. women complete a marathon.
* For men, the average time is 4:16
* World record for women: 2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe
* World record for men: 2:03:59 Haile Gebrselassie
* To get a feel of the speed required in order to be considered an elite runner, hop on a treadmill and turn that baby up to it's max, 12 miles an hour. That means you'd be running a 5 minute mile, which would put you in the top percentage of racers.
* At the 1996 Olympic trials, Bob Kempainen threw up 6 times between mile 22 and the finish....and he still won. (Again, I'm feeling really pumped)
* Some famous people who have finished marathons:
- Lance Armstrong, twice (big surprise)
- George W. Bush
- Sarah Palin
- Will Ferrel
- Mario Lopez (I wonder if he was..."saved by the bell" at the finish. Ha!)
- Freddie Prinze, Jr.
- Oprah Winfrey (ran the Marine Corps Marathon, as a matter of fact.)
- David Lee Roth
- John Edwards (also MCM)
- Al Gore (also MCM)
- P. Diddy (my personal favorite.) Here he is, probably training pretty hard, so he's just a little thirsty:


So there ya go. Carry these facts with you, always.