I've run a few marathons, now and again. Never placed though. I think, however, that, I may have stood a chance at a top-ten place in the marathon at the 1904 Olympic games in St. Louis, where:
-The first to cross the finish line was a runner who actually quit after 9 miles and was just going back to get some clothes. The crowd was amazed at his time, and he let them be, including taking the gold medal. Which he didn't keep for long.
-The second to cross the line did so legally, but heavily poisoned. In those days, it was pretty common practice to feed athletes strychnine (mixed with brandy, of course). He almost died.
-The fourth to finish was a Cuban postman who didn't have any real athletic clothing, so just cut his regular trousers into shorts for the race. He stopped off at an orchard during the race to eat some apples. They were rotten, so he had a nap. He still came in fourth.
-The ninth to finish was chased nearly a mile off course by angry dogs.
3 comments:
um, i think i could've won that race! except i don't deal so good with the poison. weak immune system. you know.
did it say anything about crying?
How do you know this stuff? What happened to the third, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place finishers? No crazy stories for them?
PS - My favourite is the Cuban runner. Nothing like a good nap in the middle of an Olympic race!
When I look at pictures from some of the first ridings of the Tour de France:
- like the one in which the riders are sitting at the side of the road having a beer while the race is still on:
http://www.allposters.com/View_HighZoomResPop.asp?apn=1256331&imgloc=12-1292-UR1O000Z.jpg&imgwidth=904&imgheight=663
- or the one where they are lighting each others cigarettes while riding
http://www.allposters.com/View_HighZoomResPop.asp?apn=290763&imgloc=7-781-Y38I000Z.jpg&imgwidth=905&imgheight=663
it is tempting to wonder if I might have had a shot at being a world class cyclist if I were born a hundred years earlier. But then I look at their wool jerseys and realize that I don't think I would have been too cool with that. And put a helmet on!
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