So, let's talk about this "marathon" thing...

22 years ago, running or races aren't one of his priorities in life, at least I don't think so. Knowing how everything he says is going be scrutinized by the press and other entities. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me that this is something he would do intentionally.

But saying Ryan is a lying mof, seems to be pretty good political hay.

One of the best races I've had was in 2000, New Times 10K I can't remember my time, it seems like it was 40 some minutes and I thought my pace was like 7:14. If someone can find it please let me know.

 Run for office on the Republican ticket, mention it in a speech and they'll find it for you. They'll probably find several people that remember you ducking into an alley, shearing 700 meters off the distance.

(you forgot to add in kicking a homeless guy in that alley too)     btw, I don't think Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" is Party-specific.

personally, I could care less if he claimed he rattled off a 4-minute mile.  personally, it might lead me to believe he could be a schmuck...but if he's going to do something politically I agree with, I'll stand by him.  I do not agree with Mr. Ryan's political stands, so he won't have my vote.  

btw, am I the only person who thinks Paul Ryan looks a little bit like Aaron Rodgers, and Ryan Howard (formerly "the temp" from the American version of The Office)?

Again maybe he just mis spoke... I've done it without realizing it when it happens, since numbers get fuzzy after a while.   usually I catch myself and correct it on the spot, but who knows if I've said something that was off and didn't realize it.

seriously do you honestly expect someone to remember everything and say it correctly 24/7.   no wonder we can't get any real leaders to run for office..

eta.. the number of people I've talked with that at one time in their youth claim to be faster than they most likely were is higher than the ones that can remember

Are you saying you think he deliberately lied about his time?

What reason do you think he would have to deliberately lie about it?

I think it's easier for someone like you or I to have a better recollection of what our times have been because we know what is a good time, a very good time and what times we've put up because we do it year in and year out, (wtf is wrong with us? )time like I have usually,,,,,. I think Paul Ryan has run very few races and has a krapload of data that is more relevant to him than what his Marathon time was 20ish years ago.

As I mentioned in my original response, I can't think of a good reason why he would intentionally lie about it. If you have a logical reason why he would do that, I'm all ears.

I don't want to sound like a PR apologists, you asked for opinions and this is mine. I think in his situation, when asked questions like that, he would be better off deflecting the exact time. But in a sense it's a no win situation, if he says he can't recall his time or doesn't remember, the media will be talking about his inability to remember significant details.

As far as the 10k race, I worked harder for that race than any other race I've done, I remember going past a girl that I did track workouts on a regular basis who was always faster but on this day in the middle of the race I moved past her and it was surreal. It was a big race for me, but I can't recall the time. 

Oh and for CD, since the statute of limitations is up, it was NOT a homeless man it was a homeless mother and her rug rat kid, they had a Snickers and a Mountain Dew, I wanted it, I knocked them down, took the goods, cut the course and enjoyed the sugary goodness on my way to a ,,,, a,,, a   1st place finish in my age,,,,,, no,,, no ,,,,,, 1st place overall,,,,,,,, yeah,,,,,, that's the ticket, 1st place overall,,,,,, yeahhhhh.

a quick wiki search showed Paul Ryan ran a 4:01:25...

it's one thing to lie about a race time... but check out the name of the race!  "Grandma's Marathon."

How can you lie about anything with Grandma in the title?  The man is confident he's got the senior vote that's for sure.  

Senator Crusevegas, I'll bet that Mountain Dew was bigger than 22 ounces as well!  Now Bloomberg's throwin' the book at ya!  

btw, Ryan's a smart dude.  If he really forgot, even an average politician answers the question with feigned modesty...pulling up a sub-3 hour marathon time just doesn't make any sense.  Had he finished with a 3 fifty-something, I'd have chalked it up to mistaking 3 fifty-something with 2 fifty-something.  Seeing as how he was over 4, I can't see that as a mistake.  He's a "numbers guy" from everything I hear.  All I know is my wife now has beaten the last two GOP VP candidates' marathon times!  Mrs. CD for VP!  Mrs. CD for VP!!  

One thing that makes me potentially empathize with him is that I had a similar incident, but fortunately never got called out on the national stage.

When I was 22 years old we had to do 1.5 mile runs for our physical assessment every 6 months in the Navy.  I was pretty fast and usually finished in the top 5 or so.  I spent almost 15 years telling people my best time was a 6:50 and I was being completely truthful with no embellishments.  It wasn't until I was going through my old service record one day that I found my results and it was a 7:50.  It had to be wrong so I kept digging and sure enough my other times were all in the low to mid 8:00's so the 7:50 was right.  Somehow in my head and I "embellished" the number down to a 6:50.  I wasn't a runner and had never competed in an organize race so I didn't even know what was fast or slow.

Does my little anecdotal example mean PR was or was not lying?  Absolutely not, but I can honestly see how he didn't really care or think about a marathon he ran over 20 years ago to remember the time correctly. 

And to predict the number of votes that will be changed by marathongate?  I'll say somewhere between zero and zero.  

I guarantee you that he lost at least 129 votes.

I gotta agree with this. We are hyper sensitive to this as endurance athletes - but my guess is most people are still asking how long a marathon is and wondering why it matters if he ran it in 3 or 4 hours...

This sort of nit-pickiness drives me bonkers. There is no hidden agenda, hidden meaning, pattern of lying or immorality - everyone tries to "get" these guys on some technicality when in reality the guy probably just forgot his time from a race 20 years ago. Gaaah.

How can you say it's well run when they get peoples times screwed up,,,,, obviously that's what happened with Ryan's time, probably a bunch of others as well.......

You should meet my dad! His mother is the only person ever though whom he wouldn't have sold for political gain.

As for Mr. Ryan ... yeah, it seems really fishy, and like others said I can see fudging 3-fiftysomething with 2-fiftysomething, especially if it's not that important to you.

Does it change my vote? No, but it slightly nudges my opinion of him as a person downward (it was actually pretty high to begin with, so now, but most particularly after his RNC speech, it's neutral). As for his political views, I actually agree with most of them in PRINCIPLE but that doesn't mean I think they should be ENFORCED and not particularly by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

I do think we rake our candidates over the coals unduly. The pressure on them to be perfect, remember, say, and do everything perfectly 24/7 at this time is enormous. I'm not sure he'd correctly remember his mother's name at this moment ("Mom" ... right?)

just saw this:  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/02/ryan-says-misstated-marathon-time-claim/
Hey at least he fessed up.  

If you don't remember your finish time and you make up a number, I call that a lie, not a "misstatement".  I can guarantee you someone who knocks out a 2:50ish marathon remembers that!

I personally don't "buy" that he didn't remember it.  I have never talked to anyone in the years I've done races who didn't know their finish time in a marathon, at least close: even people who ran 1 marathon and called it a day.

If you don't know your finish time, you say you can't remember.  Did he really not think the time would be discovered?

It makes no difference for me one way or another in so far as voting.  But it does make me question his discernment.

Andi