Marathoning Clown? I’ll Take The Gorilla Suit

February 6, 2009 · Filed Under Running News 

Denver Gorilla Run better than running clownThose in the running community may have heard the story that’s somehow making world news, of the marathoning clown who set the Guinness record for running a marathon… as a clown. “Umm… why is this news” you may ask? Is there so little in the world to report that the story of a clown running becomes relevant to anyone? Not that it’s not kind of amusing, but it seems like it should be a local story. Yet this record set in Gloucester continues to get global exposure.

We expect to see such a story in Runners World (which indeed, ran the story on their web site), but when does the spectacle of running eccentricity stop? Clown or not, this runner ran a respectable time of 2:50 or so, but do we need to commemorate the event with official world record recognition? That just means that when the story hits the wire we have to suffer through reporters’ quips like, “… he’s not just clowning around…” and “… anyone wanting to break that record will have some big shoes to fill…”.

This story may indicate that we’ve reached the saturation point for interesting records. When do we stop being interested in records for running while wearing a chicken suit, playing Stairway To Heaven on the guitar, or making a cheesecake (if these ideas inspire you, they’re yours!). The press could just as well be used to spotlight legitimate events in the world of endurance sports, such as upcoming record attempts at the women’s 3000 and men’s 1000 in Stuttgart, or the excitement at last weekend’s World Cyclocross Champs.

Two things to note here. First, I realize the paradox of writing on the topic of events that shouldn’t be written about. Kinda like time travel, I try not to rationalize it. Second, this post is in no way meant to diminish the legitimacy of real costumed events such as the Denver Gorilla Run. Now that’s the way to have a great time in a costume and be in a newsworthy event!

This is a classic Colorado race where the point is to run in a gorilla suit for a good cause. Any clown can run a marathon, but how often does one get the chance to run with a couple hundred gorillas trhough the streets of Denver? This is not the only gorilla run in the world, so there’s likely already several gorilla records. But use your imagination. Maybe you could run in a gorilla suit while pulling a midget on a tricycle, set a world record, and get global press! In fact, if anyone wants to do that one here in Colorado, let me know and I’ll plug you all over the Internet!

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Comments

One Response to “Marathoning Clown? I’ll Take The Gorilla Suit”

  1. cyclocross magazine on February 6th, 2009 6:10 pm

    Wow, how far cyclocross has come as a sport. Twenty years ago, someone would have written this same editorial about our ‘cross coverage as if IT was running around in clown suits or in a dress.

    Oh, wait, does that still happen?

    Thanks for the link.

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