Biggest Liar

A few weeks ago I spoke in a post about how wonderful I found the television show, Biggest Loser. While I am not extremely overweight, I still connected with these people and found them very inspiring.

I was particularly inspired last night when the latest person eliminated ran a marathon in 3:53, according to the caption on the screen. He was so proud of himself and he said he feels so good that he can run a marathon side by side with his wife.

The problem... he cheated.

The producers of the show picked the couple up and gave them a lift, apparently because the crew was on a tight schedule and the couple was running too slow. They crossed the finish line in 5:53 and accepted finisher's medals. According to reports around the internet they were driven for at least three miles.

A disgrace.

I saw the finish time posted on the screen and was duped into thinking that this man could do it. I was impressed that he was able to get such a great time, and it made me feel good, because sub 4 is my goal for my first marathon in November. (I am still impressed that he has achieved so much weight loss and fitness, but I have lost a little respect for him and a lot for the show.)

Various blogs have been covering this, some of whom even ran that same marathon. It is good to point out that the race director DQ'd him and his wife and they are not listed in the results.

I do not care what kind of deal I have with some show... if they wanted me to cheat at something I would have to say no.

Biggest Loser

I do not watch a lot of television. There are only a few shows that I like anymore, and even some of the shows that I used to watch all the time are getting boring to me. There just seems to be better stuff to do than watch TV.

Biggest Loser is a show that I think is worth watching. I have never seen a full season, but I have seen episodes in the past. This year I have decided to watch the entire season and I am glad that I did. It is only the second week and I can tell the show is a hundred times better than all other "reality" shows.

Unlike other shows, that hunger for conflict, and select the cast members based on the level of drama and pretentious attitude that they have, this show actually strives to make a difference in people's lives.

I particularly enjoyed yesterday's episode, and the moment I like most was during the challenge. All of the contestants except one reached the finish line. A number of them, including the winner, went back down the trail that they had to run up and gave the last place finisher support. They would not let him quit and they showed him he was capable of finishing the challenge.

The accomplishments that these people are making are incredible and you can see the excitement when they finish things that they never thought they would be, or could be, doing.

Even though I am not extremely overweight, I connect with these people, and I root for them. I am accomplishing a lot of things with running that I never thought that I would be, or for that matter, could be doing. That is why I can feel the excitement that these people are feeling.

The show can really connect to runners.

on another note....

The post before this one I complained a bit about a guy stopping me during a run. I just want you guys to know that I did not mean to sound like a total asshole. I was not rude to the guy when he stopped me. I would have given him a couple bucks if I had it so he could catch the bus. And I gave him a thumbs up to show that I was with him. I was just trying to figure out why people keep talking when you are already a half a block away from them.