[bluegoose]

So who makes your list of famous marathon finishers?

Here's a list to choose from (taken from some triathlon blog and wikipedia):

* Oprah Winfrey, Marine Corps Marathon 1994 (4:29:20)
* Dana Carvey, Ocean to Bay Marathon 1972 (3:04:21)
* Lisa Ling, formerly of The View, Boston Marathon 2002 (4:34:18)
* Freddie Prinze, Jr., Los Angeles Marathon 2006 (5:50:49)
* Ted Koppel Marine Corps Marathon
* Amanda Holden, London Marathon 2008 (4:13:22)


Actors

* William Baldwin, New York City Marathon 1992 (3:24:29)
* Anthony Edwards, Chicago Marathon 2003 (3:55:40)
* David James Elliott, JAG, Boston Marathon 2000 (4:57:23)
* Will Ferrell, Boston Marathon 2003 (3:56:12)
* Katie Holmes, New York City Marathon 2007 (5:29:58)
* John Keston, Twin Cities Marathon 1996 (3:00:58)
* Mario López, Saved by the Bell, Boston Marathon 2002 (5:41:41)

Musicians

* Sean Combs, New York City Marathon 2002 (4:14:54)
* Mike Malinin, Goo Goo Dolls, Rock 'n' Roll Marathon 2004 (5:07:53)
* David Lee Roth,New York City Marathon 1987 (6:04:43)
* Björn Ulvaeus, ABBA, Stockholm Marathon 1980, (3:23:54)
* Joe Strummer, The Clash, London Marathon 1981, 1983; Paris Marathon 1982

Athletes

* Lance Armstrong, New York City Marathon 2006 (2:59:36) and 2007 (2:46:42)
* James Cracknell, Former British Olympic rower, London Marathon 2008 (2:59)
* Roger Craig, Former San Francisco 49ers, Chicago 2004 (3:54:00)
* Justin Leonard, Golfer, White Rock/Dallas 2001 (3:54:40)
* Kerri Strug, Gymnast, Houston Marathon 1999 (4:12:06)
* Lynn Swann, former Pittsburgh Steelers, New York City 1993 (4:26:21)
* Pat Tillman, Avenue of The Giants Marathon 2000 (3:48)

Politians

* George W. Bush, Houston Marathon 1993 (3:44:52)
* Michael Dukakis, Governor of Massachusetts, Boston Marathon 1951 (3:31:00)
* John Edwards, Marine Corps Marathon 1983 (3:30:18)
* Bill Frist, Marine Corps Marathon 1997 (4:54:36)
* Al Gore, Marine Corps Marathon 1997 (4:58:25)
* Mike Huckabee, Governor of Arkansas, Little Rock Marathon 2005 (4:39:04)
* Tom Vilsack, Governor of Iowa, Little Rock Marathon 2005 (5:28:39)

Other

* Kim Alexis, model, New York City Marathon 1992 (3:52:00)
* Ali Landry, model, Boston Marathon 2002 (5:41:41)
* Kyle Petty, NASCAR Nextel Cup driver, Las Vegas Marathon January 2005 (4:18:34)
* Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Marine Corps Marathon (3:11:xx) 1979
* Michael Waltrip, Las Vegas Marathon January 2005 (3:59:23)


And here's Brian's favorite:

3:1415926 Pi's Pacers - geeky younger brother of Phidippides in ancient Greece, was more interested in mathematics than in running.

And our newest celeb, Sarah Palin coming in with a 3:59.

My personal list begins and ends with Al Gore and Oprah Winfrey. If either of them beats me, please take me behind the woodshed and beat the living daylights out of me for even trying.

I was a little disappointed to see Mario Lopez finishing in 5:41, until I saw that Ali Landry finished the same race at the same time. I suspect there may have been several dozen other male runners capable of running much faster that finished around 5:41:30 that day.