Andy DehnartAfter skipping part of a marathon but insisting he ran the whole thing “in [his] mind” and keeping the medal he received, Biggest Loser 7 contestant Dane Patterson will attempt another 26.2 mile race next month.
The Country Music Marathon in Nashville, which is part of the rock ‘n’ roll marathon series, issued a press release to say “Dane Patterson Will Run for Redemption,” and he “hopes running the marathon will be a personal milestone and public redemption to prove he can complete the full race.” The race will be held April 25 in Nashville.
Dane’s first marathon attempt was interrupted by a producer who drove him to the finish line and filmed him crossing it with an incredible sub-four hour time, which was shown on TV as if that was his actual time. That led to eventual apologies from NBC and the show’s producers.
According to the marathon’s site, runners have to “reach the 11-mile mark (the location where the Marathon and Half Marathon courses separate) at 10:40 am or later (16:30 per mile pace / 7:12 marathon),” or else they’ll be forced to complete the half marathon instead. It says “the official course time limit” is seven hours, which may present a problem for Dane, because as he said about his first attempt, “I knew I would not make it in time to cross the finish line before it closed at 6 hours, so I then received a ride from the field producer.”
The announcement says Dane “is welcoming runners to sign up to ‘Run with Dane’ as he challenges himself.” You can also run it with him from the comfort of your own couch and then insist you ran all 26.2 miles in your mind.