# Once again, I challenge you to defeat me. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 29, 2002, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395 "2002-07-29T17:16:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/21 "2002-07-31T03:39:21Z")
If his feet hold up, the fact is I’ll be in trouble. He’s a rather gung-ho individual, so I guess I better start the psychological warfare now to thoroughly demoralize him by race time. I have some ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/22 "2002-07-31T03:45:08Z")
You may fire when ready, Gridley. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/23 "2002-09-02T23:53:59Z")
& I think I’m first - and the winner until the weekend when each one of you kicks my time in. I could make a string of actually reasonably valid excuses, but in the end I finished at around 2:43 (official time should come later). ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/24 "2002-09-03T01:04:15Z")
> [@](#): > > You probably shouldn’t even try. Would you try to stop a waterfall? Would you? Bwhahahaha! I’m unstoppable! - Jeremy Waterfall ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2002, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/25 "2002-09-08T02:15:28Z")
I have some bad news… Right now I am in the process of moving **MsRobyn** , **Bomb Bay** , and myself into our new place. Unless Robin will let me go (which seems unlikely), I’m afraid I shall have to concede defeat even before the duel begins. [sub]As I pick up my gauntlet and slink away quietly…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2002, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/26 "2002-09-08T02:29:08Z")
Well, I’m competing in a charity kickball tournament in a few weeks (yes, _kickball_–for us grownups, no less), so, um… what kind of kickball feat might be comparably astounding to beating **Scylla** in a half-marathon? Perhaps finishing the game _sober enough to stand_ would teach him a lesson! No, lemme think of something easier. I’ll be back! Really! ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2002, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/27 "2002-09-09T00:09:04Z")
'Tis no defeat Airman. One needs to attend to family first. After all, the Way of the Warrior is as nothing compared to the Way of the Wife ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2002, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/28 "2002-09-26T20:56:44Z")
I’ve been meaning to search for this & bump it. So although no one took you up on your challenge, how was the race? I ran my race the next weekend, and clocked an official time of 1:57:14 or so (watch time was 1:56:56, not that it counts). That’s a PR for me. However, I suspect that the course was short. Several other people ran PRs that day, and there has been some muttering about inaccurate measurements. I have no way of knowing. Regardless, I think I still ran fast enough to break 2 hours and run a legit PR. But now I feel the need to run another half to truly prove to myself that I can break 2:00. It troubles me that a race on a Marine base might have been inaccurately measured… ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2002, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/29 "2002-09-26T21:04:34Z")
Congrats on a great race, **scout** ybaby! I mostly ran (and partially walked) the Dick Beardsley Half Marathon in 2:30 something… It was in the 90s with high humidity. So hot, in fact, that someone collapsed a quarter mile from the finish and died. Turns out he had a congenital heart condition no one knew about and must have pushed himself too hard… Anyway, I ran the first nine miles with little to no problem, then just felt tired and the back of my thighs were stiff, so I walked and ran the last four miles. Only ten minutes off my previous PR… My first few mile splits were pretty fast, for me. The coolest part of the weekend was meeting Bill Rodgers and Dick Beardsley; I have digital pictures of me with both of them… Woo hoo! ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2002, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/30 "2002-09-26T23:36:00Z")
Dying at a race ain’t the way to go - :eek: Wow, you got to meet Bill Rodgers? And Dick Beardsley? And you’ve run with Kenyans??? Sheesh. Um, my SO knows Meb Keflezghi… :: crickets :: He was in the Olympics running the 10,000 meters. :: crickets :: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/31 "2002-09-27T02:20:24Z")
1:37:30. A personal race record for me, but not my best effort. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/32 "2002-09-27T16:26:57Z")
Wow! You go with your bad self… ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395/33 "2002-09-27T17:18:26Z")
**scout** ybaby, Bill and Dick were the coolest guys. They were also the skinniest non-Kenyans I’ve ever seen. I joked with my friend that they must have left their asses at home. Both of them spoke at the spaghetti feed: Dick told a few hilarious stories about running with Bill in his heyday, then introduced him. Bill related a few anecdotes (mostly about how he’s dropped out of several high-temperature races, ironically enough) and answered questions. The feed was surreal, too. Held in an Eagles Club (like a Legion hall), the speakers both had to compete with a woman selling “Meat Raffle” tickets. She’d stop at every table and ask in a loud voice whether anyone wanted to buy a ticket. Then she even tried to annouce the winner over the same PA system Bill was using to speak. It was like someone hawking hot dogs during a Papal sermon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-again-i-challenge-you-to-defeat-me/121395.md?page=1)