Representative Paul D. Ryan has taken back his claim that he had run a marathon in under three hours, an assertion that had drawn great skepticism in the running community and one that came after his convention speech faced scrutiny for some questionable and misleading statements.
Mr. Ryan issued a statement that was published over the weekend by The New Yorker magazine and Runners' World clarifying his marathon performance:
“The race was more than 20 years ago, but my brother Tobin - who ran Boston last year - reminds me that he is the owner of the fastest marathon in the family and has never himself ran a sub-three. If I were to do any rounding, it would certainly be to four hours, not three. He gave me a good ribbing over this at dinner tonight.â€
In the interview with the radio host Hugh Hewitt last week, Mr. Ryan was asked what were some of his best times in marathons, and he replied, “Under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something.â€
Mr. Ryan is known for his dedicated physical fitness regimen. But as serious runners know, a marathon run under three hours is quite a feat, and requires a pace of under 7 miles a minute for the whole race, as The Los Angeles Times pointed out.
