The Oprah Line

Yesterday, I became familiar with a new term: "The Oprah Line." And much to my delight, I beat it. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, Oprah famously ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 1994, finishing in a respectable 4 hours and 29 minutes.

If I can brag, I beat her by 3 minutes with a 4:26:04. I beat Oprah!

Alas, I've got some more work to do if I want to beat other famous celebrity marathon runners. In particular, I've got my eye trained on two people, Will Ferrell and his 3:56 at Boston and Sarah Palin with a 3:59 at something called the Humpy Marathon, presumably in Alaska. I obviously needed more cowbell or more moose meat.

For a quick recap, I should say that I absolutely trounced Mario Lopez (5:41) and Katie Holmes (5:29), and bested Bill Frist (4:54), Al Gore (4:58), Mike Huckabee (4:39), and even Pittsburgh Steeler Hall of Fame wide receiver Lynn Swann (4:26:21). George W. Bush and Michael Dukakis still have a significant edge on me, at 3:44 and 3:31, respectively. Sean Combs ran one in 4:14, which I'm sure I can manage a year from now, especially considering that I shaved 40 minutes off of my first marathon last year in Chicago's heat plagued race (at least I finished!). One needs to have goals. 

As you can see, this is a resolutely bi-partisan list, but I would like to salute everyone who's taken the challenge. 26.2 miles is a long way to run and takes a certain dedication. 

And, like everything else, it reminds me of this marathon election cycle we've all been forced to endure (whether we trained for it or not). I actually think both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain are to be commended for their perseverance. 

But there is a cost. I'm walking pretty stiffly today, and expect to do so for a couple more days. Similarly, the candidates, whether they are finishing strongly or limping toward the finish, should be expected to need some time for recuperation after this is all over. What does that mean in political terms?

Like me, I'm sure they are all going to need a good meal and a long nap. And they're gonna ache, psychologically if not physically. The hope, however, is that whatever respite they have includes some reflection on what they've just accomplished and what it means for the future. Whomever wins the election will have a monstrous task before them and they'll need whatever lessons of fortitude they learned along the way. America is in too precarious a state for either candidate to feel vindicated by an election--they'll need a resilience in knowing that the job ahead will require more.

Me, I've got Will Ferrell in my sights. My sympathies go out to the rest.

P.S. Many thanks to Jenn, Nick, Mike, Vanessa, Alan and all the rest of the crowds for their enthusiastic support, and a congrats to Katy in setting a fantastic personal best of 3:49!