To be honest Pat's does a really good job of covering the story. Or you could go to the link that I linked to last night and read the comment from Dane's wife. Melancholy Smile: WE DID IT! Also I think the race did the right thing in not listing Dane as a finisher of the race RACE RESULTS.
But let me just state this. Anyone that knows me knows that I love the Biggest Loser. I actually credit Pete Thomas (season 2 $100,000 winner) with inspiring me to get off the couch. I had to do the work, but not sure I would have if I didn't find inspiration from Pete.
I don't want anyone to take this post or last nights post as me coming down on Dane. That could not be further from the truth. I find Dane incredibly inspiring and I am sure he has inspired MANY people as Pete did. The guy lost 100 pounds in 8 weeks. Did you read that correctly? 100 POUNDS IN 8 WEEKS. That is just insane.
NBC on the other hand, and as Pat said, the Producers of the show I do have a problem with. You can't get on national TV and say this man just ran a sub 4 hour marathon. Do they realize the amount of training that it takes to run sub 4 hours? So when I saw that they said that, I as a runner/triathlete, immediately thought something did not sound right. Again no offense to Dane it just didn't add up at this point. I hope Dane does train and go out and run a sub 4 hour marathon, Lord knows I will never be able to run a sub 4 hour marathon.
So just want to make sure I cleared a few points up.
- I don't in anyway think that Dane is dis-honest, this is TV people doing what they do best.
- I think Dane is amazing. And more importantly I think he has inspired numerous amounts of people in his journey.
- NBC Producers should really think about what they are putting out for the general public. They did the same thing with Blaine's tape.
"What have you done today to make you feel proud?"
14 comments:
I love the show but I hate their gimmicks. They dont need gimmicks. The contestants do an amazing job and there is no reason to be lied to. I also don't blame Dane- I think it is just what TV producers do to assure viewers. The thing is, it makes me mad, but not mad enough to stop watching.
Do you know if Dane has made a statement in reference to this?
Dane is dishonest! He crossed the finish line after being driven there in a Van. Shame on Dane and shame on NBC.
Shame on Anonymous comments, my fault for allowing them I guess.
Jillian commented. Oh, not that Jillian.
Anon, Dane ran that race as a character on a tv show. I bet he wanted to run the bigger Rock N Roll marathon and the producers told him to run the smaller race that they could film at. It's make believe tv just like Run Fatboy Run's star didn't really run London. I don't blame Dane either.
Dane's wife did comment on the blog that Dan references. I think they come clean with it.
Dan, you broke the story and I could never have done a good job playing journalist without your lead.
HaHa- If THAT Jillian had commented I am sure it would have been much more swear filled and in a rant type fashion. She doesn't take much crap and I am sure this is not going over well with her. Bob on the other hand, is probably crying somewhere!
Anonymous comments aren't worth reading. They usually merit no reason or backing. Your's is proof of that. Dane is a contestant who signed a contract and will be fined if he doesn't keep to it.
I say shame on NBC for exploiting him and putting him in this position.
The funny thing is this is only offensive to runners/marathoners. The average boob on the couch doesn't know the difference between him finishing a 5K or a marathon. Certainly the boneheads at NBC don't understand the difference either.
Kudos to you, Dan, in giving the sub-4 hour marathon the credit it deserves. My first reaction when I read this was outrage, but then I realized this is one of the reasons I don't watch reality TV. In the greater scheme of things, if this lie encourages one unfit person to pursue running and/or finishing a marathon, eh, how bad is it? We in the running community know it's a crock of BS.
Progman2000, it's not a big thing in the grand scheme of things. But I believe the lie was unnecessary to encourage anyone to get running. It might discourage some, who go out and do their first 5K at 12 miles per mile.
Dane said in his interview that he was happy to have run an "entire marathon" with his wife. He ran seventeen miles if you believe most accounts, which is an accomplishment in itself, but not a full marathon. Yes, the producers deserve some of the blame, but Dane and his wife were complicit in the ruse. They are not innocent here. They got in a van, they crossed the line and took the finish medals, and Dane interviewed that he was happy to have done the "entire" thing. He went along with it, and his wife seems to have only been interested in clarifying things once she realized they had been caught.
I just posted this at TWOP, but I find Dane's wife's comment to be the worst of all - it proves that it wasn't just the producers involved. She said that she hopes they say he ran the marathon, because he would have done it if circumstances hadn't gotten in the way. Well, perhaps they should say I've been on the Olympic team, because I would have been if circumstances like my not being a superstar athlete didn't get in the way. I'd also like to know where my van is when I lose time during a race by stopping for a bathroom break? Running part of a marathon is NOT the same thing as actually running a marathon, no matter what the intentions.
My understanding is that they were trying to finish before the cutoff time. I've BEEN there. I tried to do a half marathon when I was injured from doing a marathon the previous day, and I powerwalked the whole thing, squeaking in just two minutes before the three hour cutoff. Never had that cutoff been a problem for me in the past, and I went in with the best of intentions, but I never would have taken a ride to the finish, even if it meant that I didn't officially finish because I got there too late.
Laura is absolutely right. I actually believe that the 3:53 issue may have been an honest mistake. The hour on the finishing clock was missing one of the segments, and the number could either have been a 3 or a 5. It's clear from a later shot that it was a 5, but some editor just trying to get the time may have seen 3 and not knowing anything about marathon times, written it down. So there's at least a possibility here that the producers weren't trying to be dishonest.
However, Dane and his wife have removed any doubt that they are dishonest people. Dane actually says on the show "... ran an entire marathon with my wife...". And his wife saying that they should say he completed the marathon because "had time allowed he would have"?? OH MY GOD! HE DID NOT COMPLETE THE MARATHON - end of story.
What's really too bad about this is that Dane has accomplished some great things. Why diminish those accomplishments by lying and saying you've accomplished even more?
YOU know, when I heard this I just knew that couldn't be right, I was hoping that it was but a sub-4??? Man, thanks for the info and details. This is up there with the other guy doing an Ironman. I hope he can get there but I'm here to tell you, I've never been to an ironman that had a 1.5mile swim, 80 mile bike and 13.1 mile run as quoted on the show. Not really sure what kinda race that is...
OMG- I caught that ironman thing right away. It isnt even close to any distance!
Dan, I have a photo on my blog of the finish clock. I thought they photo shopped the five to look like a three. But, in fact it does look like a three.
Dan -- nice reporting!
I saw just the end of the show on Wednesday night and I immediatly questioned all the work that I had done to finish in just under 6 hrs.
What still makes no sense is the 6 hour limit -- if Dane was on a pace to finish in under 4 hours, another 3 miles is what, 4:30? Plenty of time to take pictures and do whatever they wanted to get the shots. I'm sure NBC could've gotten the race organizers to set up a water station to go back after.
This whole thing stinks. Still way too many questions. I hope the producers publicly apologize this week.
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