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Like something out of that twilighty show about that zone, one hundred people will begin competing Wed. Feb 8 for the honor of top couch potato as The Simpsons 500 Ultimate Fan Marathon Challenge powers on in Hollywood. In celebration of show's 500th episode later this month, and in an effort to set a new Guinness World Record for longest continuous television watching, Twentieth Century Fox is moving the marketing team from Century City to the center of Hollywood & Highland to run a 500-episode marathon for super fans.

In the Running World, They're Called 'Bandits' and Race Officials Don't Like to Discuss Them; the Cockroach Analogy For anyone without an official slot in Sunday's New York Marathon, here's a thought: Run it anyway. But don't expect the running establishment to cheer you on. Peter Sagal tried that at last month's Chicago Marathon. Without paying the $145 registration fee, he joined the nearly 38,000 official marathoners on Oct. 9, partaking of free Gatorade along the way. "I know it's wrong," Mr. Sagal, host of National Public Radio's "Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!," wrote afterward in a blog for Runner's...

October 17, 2011 4:20 PM 1 comment 100-year-old Fauja Singh sets world record: Oldest runner to complete a marathon BY Lauren Johnston If you're looking for one, may I suggest you repeat the words "Fauja Singh. Fauja Singh," the name of a 100-year-old man who on Sunday became the world's oldest runner to complete a marathon. October has already yielded some amazing feats in running: a woman ran the Chicago marathon while nine months pregnant the gave birth immediately after and athletes set insane records at this year's Kona Ironman. And now Singh, nicknamed the "Turbaned Torpedo" has made history...

CHICAGO -- A pregnant suburban Chicago woman felt contractions a few minutes after finishing the Chicago Marathon and gave birth hours later to a baby girl. mber Miller was nearly 39 weeks pregnant -- expecting her second child any day -- when she set off from the starting line of the Chicago Marathon Sunday. She ran and walked even as contractions started kicking in regularly toward the end of the race. But she managed to cross the finish line -- and grab a bite to eat -- before giving birth to baby girl June Sunday night. "I got the OK...

Stephanie Baliga is in the process of becoming a nun at Holy Angels parish, and also will be running the marathon next month. | Jean Lachat~Sun-Times Her nun’s habit is too long to run with, so Stephanie Baliga won’t wear it when she runs in next month’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon. But you still might be able to pick out Baliga from among the thousands of runners by the rosary beads that she’s thinking she’ll bring along on the 26.2-mile run Oct. 9. Oh, and there’s also the special running skirt, designed for modesty.Baliga, 23, is a former University...

The Battle for CivilizationThe Battle of Marathon, 2,500 years ago last week, isn't just ancient history. Before dawn on Sept. 12, 490 b.c., 10,000 mostly Athenian hoplites formed for an assault on the Persian force assembled before them on the Marathon Plain, nearly 25 miles from Athens. At the sound of a single trumpet, the advance began. Eight men deep on the flanks and four deep in the center, the phalanx of bristling spear points and blazing shields began its slow, inexorable march toward the enemy. Picking up the pace, first to a fast walk and then to a trot,...

Fox Valley Marathon winner Tim Cunningham crossed the finish line while barefoot in downtown St. Charles on Sunday morning. He didn’t lose his shoes along the way—he ran the entire 26.2 miles without them. “It was kind of a perfect day to run,” said the Charlottesville, VA resident, whose race time was 2:56:24. “The bridges were a little rough, a little slick at times, but it was good.”It was the 15th marathon for Cunningham, who spent the past year building up calluses on his feet. He started running barefoot when he could not afford five-toe running shoes; though he can afford the shoes now,...

Our main sources for early Hoplite warfare come from the writings of Herodotus, who was born in the Greek city of Halicarnassus, on the southwest coast of Asia Minor, in 484 bc. He was an Ionian Greek who traveled widely and lived for a while in Athens, before settling in Thurii, a Greek colony in southern Italy. He died about 424 BC. We also get information from Thucydides, an Athenian who wrote of the Pelopponnesian Wars. We can also find references in the works of several of the Greek playwrights' material on Hoplite warfare. We can find an account of...

NEW YORK - Warned that the barrage of Persian arrows would hide the sun at Thermopylae, the Spartan hero Dienekes replied with cool bravado, It will be pleasant to fight in the shade. Known for their terse, unflinching way of speaking, these consummate warriors from the Lakonia region of Greece were known as laconic, or sparing of words. The term also applies to their art. "Athens-Sparta," opening Wednesday at the Onassis Cultural Center, presents 289 archaeological artifacts from the paramount city states of ancient Greece to illustrate their very different social and artistic legacies. Athens lavishly encouraged artistic creativity, which...

China has opened the world's longest cross-sea bridge - which stretches five miles further than the distance between Dover and Calais. The Jiaozhou Bay bridge is 26.4 miles long and links China's eastern port city of Qingdao to the offshore island Huangdao. The road bridge, which is 110ft wide and is the longest of its kind, cost nearly £1billion to build.

Many don't realize that John Wayne struggled a bit to get to his famed career as a western legend. In 1926, John Wayne started his journey in the film industry by being an extra, a propman and a stuntman. His first starring role would be in a Fox Film western called "The Big Trail" (1930). He was let go from Fox after starring in three leads.

Runner's World reports: Olympic marathon champion and two-time Chicago Marathon winner Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya has died, apparently from a fall from a balcony at his home. The news was reported to Race Results Weekly in a telephone call by Shadrack Biwott, the former University of Oregon Duck who had spoken to his brother, marathoner Duncan Kibet, in Kenya.

When the L.A. Marathon takes place Sunday, one of the runners will attempt to set the record for the heaviest person ever to complete a marathon. Kelly Gneiting of Fort Defiance, Arizona, weighs about 400 pounds. “I am a sumo wrestler and I’ve represented the United States for the last seven years at the World Sumo Championships or World Games,” he said at a news conference Saturday at Dodger Stadium. “I don’t think anyone has used the word `marathon’ and `sumo’ in the same sentence,” he said. “I like the aspect of the two opposite-spectrum sports — sumo and marathon...

NEW YORK (AP)—World-record holder Haile Gebrselassie stunned the running world by announcing his retirement Sunday after dropping out of the New York City Marathon. The 37-year-old Ethiopian great, widely considered the greatest distance runner ever, pulled out at the 16-mile mark with a right knee injury.

FOXNews.com Police say they have found an explosive device near the course of the Pittsburgh Marathon, forcing them to detour the final part of the race. Decrease Font A A A Increase Font PITTSBURGH -- Police say they have found an explosive device near the course of the Pittsburgh Marathon, forcing them to detour the final part of the race. Police say the device was found in a small microwave oven on the sidewalk after the leaders had finished the course Sunday morning. Several blocks were cordoned off near the original finish line for the marathon and half-marathon. The bomb...

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md., Jan. 12, 2010 – Army 2nd Lt. Sophie Hilaire does not particularly fit the general image of an explosive ordnance disposal warrior. Army 2nd Lt. Sophie Hilaire sprints to the finish of the Philadelphia Marathon, setting a Guinness World Record for women by running the Nov. 22, 2009, race in 4 hours, 54 minutes wearing full battle gear. Photo courtesy of Island Photography  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. At 120 pounds, one wonders how she possibly could be strong enough to function in an 85-pound bomb suit, handling the physical and mental demands of defusing...

In a 26-Mile Slog, a Shortcut Can Be Tempting By ANDREW W. LEHREN Two California women running together in last year’s New York City Marathon needed more than four hours to cover the first 16 miles. Then, suddenly, they seemingly transformed into elite athletes, their finishing times suggesting a world-record pace through the marathon’s toughest section. Turns out, they had taken a shortcut. They ran in only four boroughs, skipping the Bronx and making a beeline for the finish line. They cheated. And they were not alone. Thirty years after Rosie Ruiz infamously combined distance running and subway riding, some...

NEW YORK – Meb Keflezighi became the first U.S. man to win the New York City Marathon since 1982 on Sunday, a victory that capped an outstanding day for American distance running. Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia captured the women's race, with two-time defending champ Paula Radcliffe falling back to fourth then grabbing her left leg in pain after finishing.

NEW YORK — Meb Keflezighi became the first US man in more than two decades to win the New York City Marathon on Sunday, while Derartu Tulu ended Paula Radcliffe's two-year grip on the women's title. Keflezighi, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist, earned his first major marathon with a time of 2hr 09min 15sec.

DETROIT — Autopsies were planned Monday a day after three half-marathoners collapsed during the Detroit marathon and died, organizers said.

DETROIT — A half-marathoner and two other runners died during the Detroit marathon on Sunday, organizers said. Daniel Langdon, 36, of Laingsburg, collapsed at about 9:02 a.m. between the 11- and 12-mile markers, said Rich Harshbarger, vice president of consumer marketing for the Detroit Media Partnership. Rick Brown, 65, of Marietta, Ohio, collapsed at 9:17 a.m., near where Langdon went down, and 26-year-old Jon Fenlon of Waterford collapsed at about 9:18 a.m., just after finishing the half-marathon in 1:53:37, Harshbarger said. It was unclear whether Brown and Langdon were participating in the 13.1-mile half marathon or the full race. Harshbarger...

A half-marathoner and two other runners died during the Detroit marathon on Sunday, organizers said. Daniel Langdon, 36, of Laingsburg, collapsed at about 9:02 a.m. between the 11- and 12-mile markers, said Rich Harshbarger, vice president of consumer marketing for the Detroit Media Partnership.

DETROIT — Race officials say three men died of what is believed to be cardiac arrest during a marathon in Detroit Sunday. Officials told the Detroit Free Press that two of the men collapsed at the finish line, and one man collapsed around the 12-mile mark at a drink station. It was unknown whether the men were running the full or half marathon as part of Sunday's 32nd Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon.

3 Detroit marathon runners die Posted: 02:44 PM ET (CNN) — Three runners died Sunday during the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon in Detroit, Michigan, police told CNN. All three deaths occurred between 9 and 9:20 a.m. ET, Second Deputy Chief John Roach said. A man in his 60s fell and hit his head, Roach said. The cause of the fall was unknown. The man was transported to Detroit Receiving Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Two other men, aged 36 and 26, also collapsed during the race and were pronounced dead at the hospital, Roach said. All three collapsed near...

CHICAGO -- If you're looking for somebody to cheer for during Sunday's marathon, Steve Baskis is your man. The 23-year-old Iraq veteran lost his sight last year when a roadside bomb exploded next to the vehicle he was driving. One of his best friends, Victor Cota, was just a few feet away from him at the time and lost his life. Instead of falling apart, though, Baskis did exactly the opposite. He needed an outlet for competitiveness and he wanted to show people that life doesn't end just because you lose your vision. After numerous surgeries to repair his injuries,...

Borrowing and using a catheter during a race should not cause even a wee bit of trouble, meaning that the 81-year-old age-division winner in Sunday's Twin Cities Marathon avoids disqualification, officials said this morning. After a one-day review, race organizers said that Jerry Johncock did not break the rules regarding in-race assistance when he left the course and borrowed a spectator's catheter. He had it inserted into his bladder by official medical personnel near Mile 21 on East River Road in St. Paul, allowing him to urinate and be on his way. Johncock, of Gun Lake in southwestern Minnesota, said...

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela's garrulous President Hugo Chavez on Thursday began a marathon four-day edition of his trademark television show to mark 10 years since the influential and widely watched program first hit the airwaves. Chavez is a tireless talker who uses frequent television appearances to make policy announcements, berate opponents and even sing during rambling speeches often delivered in the florid vernacular of working class Venezuelans. Normally transmitted on Sundays from a different corner of the South American oil exporting nation each week, 'Alo Presidente' is the boisterous socialist's favorite forum, with the program once running to eight hours....

A soldier injured in a rocket attack in Iraq finally completed the London Marathon today – in 13 days, two hours and 50 minutes. Major Phil Packer has been walking the course on crutches, two miles at a time, every day since the race started on April 26. The 36-year-old was told he would not walk again after the blast in Basra last February. But he has proved doctors wrong after working with staff at Headley Court, the MoD’s rehabilitation centre in Surrey. Crossing the finishing line in The Mall, Major Packer was greeted by well-wishers and awarded his medal...

BOSTON, April 24, 2009 – Two Special Forces soldiers who are close friends have much in common. Both were wounded in combat -- one in Iraq, the other Afghanistan. Both are recipients of the Silver Star Medal for their actions in combat. Both are single-leg amputees. And both were official finishers of the 113th Boston Marathon on April 20. Special Forces soldiers Army Staff Sgt. John Walding and Army Maj. Kent Solheim, both wounded warriors, start the 113th Boston Marathon together, April 20, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Curt Squires  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army...

A field of 26,386 runners left Hopkinton for the Boston Marathon on Monday, with some top American contenders hoping to earn the first U.S. victory in the race in decades. Temperatures in the 40s with a light headwind greeted the competitors at the start of the 113th edition of the race.

UPDATED to include Dane Patterson's apology. A followup to my Thursday story about the fabricated account of "Biggest Loser" eliminee Dane Patterson running a marathon, when in fact he only ran 23 miles: The producers of "The Biggest Loser" are taking full responsibility for the misrepresentation. Here's the apology put out late Thursday night by Reveille, the company behind "TBL": "As the Executive Producers of 'The Biggest Loser' we would like to make an official apology and set the record straight with regards to the claim in last night's episode that Dane completed a marathon in Arizona. "After seeing on...

DUBLIN (AFP) — An Irish long-distance runner has completed a gruelling seven marathons on seven continents in less than six days, a charity chief said Thursday. Richard Donovan, 42, from Galway in the west of Ireland, began his challenge in numbing sub-zero temperatures in Antarctica on January 31 and finished in Sydney just five days, nine hours and eight minutes later.

Paula Radcliffe defended her title at the New York City Marathon on Sunday to become the second woman to win the race three times. Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil won the men’s race for the second time in three years, passing Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco with about a mile to go. Unlike Radcliffe’s tight victories in 2004 and ‘07, the world record holder from Great Britain pulled away from Ludmila Petrova in the 22nd mile to win comfortably in two hours, 23 minutes, 56 seconds. “The last two times it’s been a really close finish at the end,” Radcliffe...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2008 – As they have for the past 32 years, nearly 20,000 runners gathered at the Marine Corps War Memorial here to tackle the 26.2 miles of the 33rd Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 26. Some of the 18,281 participants in the 33rd Marine Corps Marathon cross the starting line Oct. 26, 2008. The marathon, which began in Arlington, Va., will have ripple effects around the world, as many runners participated to raise funds for troop-support groups. Photo courtesy of Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Among the runners were many...

There were over 20,000 competitors in Sunday's Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. And 24-year-old Arien O'Connell, a fifth-grade teacher from New York City, ran the fastest time of any of the women. But she didn't win. It doesn't get much simpler than a footrace. All it takes is a starting line, a finish line and a clock. You fire the gun and the first person to the end of the course is the winner. However, as the marathon officials said to O'Connell - not so fast. While O'Connell had the greatest run of her life and covered the course...

Just a heads up for those interested, and have the time: USANetwork is running a NCIS marathon all day today, until 7 pm EDT. To clarify, the last episode *ends* at 7pm.

There's a lot of news swirling around Republican vice presidential nominee and Alaska governor Sarah Palin. We're not here to talk about that (fear not, political trash talkers, our forumites are all over it). Nor will we discuss the fact that tonight in St. Paul, Minnesota, she'll make history by becoming the first-ever female Republican veep nominee when she formally accepts the nomination of her party. Rather, we're here to inform you that, according to a forthcoming profile in The Wall Street Journal Magazine, Palin is a runner. Not just a "oh, I go jogging once in a while" kind...

Just was looking for what the TV fare would be on the Fourth, and noticed that USA Networks will be airing an 8 episode NCIS marathon on the Holiday. Starting at 3 pm EDT, it appears from what i've read, that the shows span a few episodes before "Caitlin" gets killed, to a few episodes after. Covering "Ziva" joining the team as well.

Heads up for NCIS fans: this Friday, June 27, 2008, USANetworks will be airing a 10 episode Marathon of NCIS starting at 1 pm EDT, of shows *with* Ziva, and starting with an episode where Gibbs is retired. IOW, not the same episodes from the last marathon...*all* new for *me*! ;)

LONDON: Ryan Hall came of age at last year's London Marathon, and he's back to prove he has what it takes to break up the race's African domination. Hall ran the fastest time for an American making his first appearance in a 26.2-mile race last year when he finished seventh in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 24 seconds, dropping back only in a sprint finish. "It's one thing to believe you can run fast, but it's another thing to actually go out there and do it," the 25-year-old Hall said Wednesday. "Last year I proved I can do it through 23...

TCM Host Robert Osborne: Actor Was ‘Genuine Movie Star’ By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/7/2008 2:44:00 PM Turner Classic Movies slated a 15-hour marathon April 11-12 (2:30 p.m.-5:30 a.m. April 12) to salute the late Charlton Heston. Heston, who died over the weekend at age 84, was an Oscar-winning actor whose imposing frame and voice made him the film industry's choice for a number of classic roles. TCM's lineup includes an interview and lesser-known films -- The Buccaneer, Major Dundee, The Hawaiians (such tributes are circumscribed by the films to which a channel has rights) -- bracketing his...

Afghanistan to Ask NATO for Bigger Army Afghan officials will go to the NATO summit in Romania Thursday with a request: pay to increase our national Army by 40 percent. A bigger Army, Afghan officials argue, will allow the US and other coalition members to scale back in the coming years. This appeal comes amid pleas from the US and Canada for other NATO members to commit more to the Afghanistan mission, which many analysts say has floundered over the past year for lack of resources and a coherent strategy. France is expected to contribute another 1,000 forces and...

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - A suicide bomber attacked the opening ceremony of a marathon outside Sri Lanka's capital Sunday, killing a government minister and 11 other people, authorities said. Dozens were wounded. Officials blamed the bombing, the second this year resulting in the death of a senior government official, on Tamil Tiger rebels. Minister of Highways and Road Development Jeyaraj Fernandopulle was opening the race at Weliweriya town, 12 miles outside Colombo. He died in a hospital of injuries sustained in the blast, said government spokesman Lakshman Hulugalla, blaming Tamil rebels. Eleven others were killed—including former Olympic marathoner K.A....

LONDON (Reuters) - Already Britain's oldest employee, 101-year-old Buster Martin now aims to become the world's oldest marathon runner by completing the London Marathon and celebrating with a pint of beer and a cigarette. Sprightly and bearded, he completed a half marathon at the weekend in five hours 13 minutes. The former Army physical training instructor works three days a week for a London plumbing firm and says he has trained for the April 13th race in his spare time. "I've said I'll attempt it," he told Reuters by telephone from his workplace at Pimlico Plumbers. "I haven't said I'll...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Top distance runner Ryan Shay died during the U.S. men's Olympic marathon trials Saturday after collapsing about 51/2 miles into the race. He was 28. New York Road Runners president Mary Wittenberg said Shay was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital and was pronounced dead at 8:46 a.m. "It cuts a knife through everybody's hearts," Wittenberg said. Wittenberg said Shay received immediate medical attention. "There were several layers of medical response," she said. "It was very quick." Shay of Flagstaff, Ariz., hit the ground near the Central Park boathouse, a popular Manhattan tourist spot, during the 26.2-mile...

The MARINE CORPS marathon is tommorrow! Is it possible for any FREEPERS to get out there and support those guys & gals who are running in it & maybe post photos of it later?

MEXICO CITY - After a humiliating defeat in Mexico's presidential election last year, Roberto Madrazo appeared to be back on top: He'd won the men's age-55 category in the Sept. 30 Berlin marathon with a surprising time of 2:41:12. But Madrazo couldn't leave his reputation for shady dealings in the dust. Race officials said Monday they disqualified him for apparently taking a short cut — an electronic tracking chip indicates he skipped two checkpoints in the race and would have needed superhuman speed to achieve his win. According to the chip, Madrazo took only 21 minutes to cover the 15...

CHICAGO -- In a race run in scorching heat that left one man dead, Kenya's Patrick Ivuti won the Chicago Marathon by a fraction of a second Sunday. At least 49 runners were taken to hospitals and another 250 were treated at the site.

Double Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie has broken the world marathon record at the 34th Berlin Marathon.The 34-year-old Ethiopian athlete clocked two hours four minutes and 26 seconds to smash Kenya's Paul Tergat previous mark of 2hrs 4.55secs which was set at the same course four years ago...

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats refused to flinch Tuesday as the chamber moved toward a rare, all-night session of debate on legislation to bring troops home this fall. They called for sleeping cots to be rolled into a room off the Senate floor and told members to prepare for repeated votes throughout the evening. Senators even left open the possibility of dispatching the sergeant at arms to summon colleagues from their homes to the floor if lawmakers ignored the debate. The threat was reminiscent of a 1988 debate on campaign finance reform in which Capitol police carried Oregon Republican Sen. Robert...