Hold Your Horses

This is a good news-bad news type of situation.

The bad news first...

Not Pictured: The unsuspecting dog on
which the kitten is about to pounce.

Yes, I promised my loyal readers a detailed recap of the Emerald Across the Bay 12k, but you'll have to wait just a little while longer for the gripping conclusion.  Unfortunately, the race organizers have yet to post the results of the Clydesdale Division.  Any summary of the race without those would be premature and woefully incomplete.  So take some advice from the fuzzy kitten to the right and chill the *bleep* out.

Now for the good news...

You get to enjoy an extra post this week! Yes folks, there's the silver lining among the clouds.  Hopefully today's post will help you cope with the mind-numbing suspense.

Yesterday, a friend of mine sent me an article from an NPR blog, and, given my recent discussion of Clydesdale racing, it seems appropriate to pass it along now.  I noticed that Yahoo News also picked up the story last night, but like most Y! News posts, it lacked any sort of insight or depth on the matter.  I guess that's what happens when you get news from a site that puts the devastation in Japan as a co-headline with the articles "Tennis Pro Claims Higher IQ than Einstein" and "Rocker Sammy Hagar Says Abducted by Aliens." 

This past weekend, a National Champion Sumo wrestler named Kelly Gneiting ran the Los Angeles Marathon for the second time.  It took him nearly 10 hours, but the 400-pound competitor completed the full 26.2 miles, improving on his previous time by over an hour.

Yes, a 400-pound Sumo wrestler from Defiance, AZ completed a marathon.  What's stopping you?

Here's a link to the brief article:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/03/21/134740369/400-pound-sumo-wrestler-finishes-l-a-marathon

For more information, here's a lengthy video covering Gneiting's journey in the 2008 LA Marathon. He actually tells a pretty interesting story:

Gneiting was able go where no 400-pound man was able to go before.  As a reward, I think the winner of the LA Marathon, Markos Geneti, should be forced to face Gneiting in a Sumo match.  I believe it will end in one of two ways:

1) A scrawny Markos Geneti size hole in the wall.
2) A Markos Geneti size pancake on the mat.

... I watched a lot of cartoons as a kid. 

Kelly Gneiting crosses the finish line
(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times / March 20, 2011)