Posted on 03/03/2009 11:13:29 AM PST by longtermmemmory
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 various online blogs that this information may be inaccurate we investigated the claim and found that Dane had not indeed completed the marathon unaided. From our internal investigation we learned that Dane ran the first 17 miles before receiving a ride from the field producer for 3 miles before rejoining the race at the 20 mile mark whereupon he completed the race.
"We are incredibly proud of Dane for running 23 miles and losing over 130 lbs on his weight loss journey so far and wish him luck as he continues his new healthy lifestyle. We have also taken the necessary action to ensure that there is no future misrepresentations and sincerely apologize for misleading our loyal viewers and it was certainly not our intent but an unwitting mistake.
"We hope they will continue to be inspired and motivated by all of our contestants and follow them as they continue to change their lives."
Update 6:18 pm: This from Dane Patterson. He actually did finish the race, in a manner:
(end excerpt)
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.kansascity.com ...
The contestant then made all sorts of excuses for not doing the full run.
A full marathon is 26.2 miles and can be walked or run as long as you finish within the alloted time. Finishers generally recieve some form of finisher's medal. NBC was caught in part because the posted a fake finish time of 3:53 which is supposedly a very good time for a marathon runner.
NBC is the same network responsible for the legendary faking of exploding pickup truck gas tanks.
Keep in mind, NBC producers COULD have shown the man finishing period; with or without the fancy finish line flags. (or even just asked them to leave it up)
This is the age of Obama fakery. First it was styrofoam columns and now it is non-finishers recieving finishing medals.
I wish I could run 23 miles.
At least he didn’t burst into flames when colliding with something...
There’s no shame in not finishing a marathon.
There’s plenty of shame in faking it.
My hubbie is a runner, this will piss him off when I tell him about it.
If FOX had done this, we’d never hear the end of it.
Prepare for this story to sink like a stone in the MSM.
It’s freakin’ TV for Pete’s sake... and a stupid “reality” show to boot! Who really cares?
I ran one in 2005. It took me a little over 5 hours but I finished it myself. Doing a half marathon this year.
I expect everything on the boob tube to be fake, exaggerated, or unrealistic.
I’m sure all of the posters in this thread who criticize Dane are physical specimens themselves, able to run 26 miles without breaking a sweat.
He didn't complete the race. He may, indeed, have run across the finish line under his own power but HE DIDN'T GET THERE UNDER HIS OWN POWER.
HE DIDN'T COMPLETE THE RACE.
Not accepted.
Until the MSM is willing to truly apologize for turning the White House into the "Kremlin of DC"....then I'll listen.
Yeah, I know...not holding my breath.
Or, they could clarify that the biggest loser was not, in fact, a contestant at all, but rather, the biggest loser was anyone dumb enough to have casted a ballot for Nopama in the first place.
I watched one in 2005. Is that the same thing?
I see a lot of folks criticising NBC ... for lying.
The Reprise of Rosie Ruiz!
For me, 23 miles is a marathon!!
What a strange story. Even if the contestant quit at 17 miles, that’s still a really huge accomplishment- especially after having lost 130 pounds.
So why didn’t they just focus on that positive aspect of the story instead of faking it??
17 miles, drive 3 miles, 6 miles.
Then some time later you run/walk another 3.2 miles, “whenever”.
Just wait. It’s still early in the thread.
It was a SOCIALIST marathon where everybody deserves to finish.
The criticism isn’t really for his not doing it, it’s for FAKING. I bike 26 miles at least weekly, I do sweat plenty. I don’t hate myself enough to try to run it. I applaud Dane for trying, and for coming damn close, and for getting rid of all that weight. But he shouldn’t have faked finishing.
I watched the beginning of one, took a nap, then watched the end. Now, THAT oughta count.
Oh not at all, I freely admit I'd have a hard time running ONE mile - but I wouldn't pull a Rosie Ruiz either.
it is not the physcial specimin part, it is the lie.
He was complicit in the lie in order to complete his triumphant phot op.
People walk marathons with no issue. People who do not make the finish time still complete the 26.2 miles.
He did not finish the entire distance but claimed the same medal as those who trained and comleted the full distance.
Is it “tee vee”? yes, and NBC is caught faking again. The lies must be exposed.
I was hesitant to use her name in my post - I wasn't sure anyone would remember.
If Dane had half a brain and any integrity, he would not have accepted the medal, nor let himself be portrayed as finishing. He is truly a loser.
And yes, I am fit as fiddle and if the weather is chilly and I keep a good pace, I won't sweat all that much. But I generally hate winter races.
I haven’t watched it, when I was dropping pounds I was more into Celebrity Fit Club. I think I probably could run a marathon, but it would just take so long, biking it takes me a good hour and 45 minutes, figure a run would take me a minimum of 5 probably closer to 6 hours. I’m just not dedicated enough to take 6 hours out of my day for the sake of causing myself pain.
Yeah not everyone is built to be a runner or even a walker. I can’t take impact in one foot due to an injury and even walking is very painful, but I bike 100 miles a week.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2074834/posts
Sarah Palin runs Marathon with a blazing time of 3:59:36
“Who really cares?”
Those of us who sit in front of the TV every Tuesday night with big bowls of ice cream care very deeply.
Rosie and the real thing
Okay, yes they lied and yes lying is wrong. But come on! This guy has gone from like 400 pounds down to the mid 200s and was able to run 23 miles! Unreal, I personally don’t give a flip if he finished those last 3 miles or not.
see your problem is you are being honest.
He triieed, really tried, its not his fault he could not finish. He deserves a finisher’s medal because he really really really wanted to finish.
(sarcasm off)
I think NBC could have had a HUGE build up for next season with him actually running a marathon after showing him actually finishing the marathona in over 6 hours this year and a rematch next year.
Instead for a “big lie” they traded easy finish for work.
The age of Obama, easy slavery instead of the eternal vigilance of liberty. easy lies instead of hard truth.
(isn’t part of weigh loss stopping the lies to yourself? )
Oh, I am not saying what the guy did was right, I am just saying I wish I could run 17 miles, I wish I could run 3.2 miles.
Wasn’t all the singing faked at the Super Bowl this year?
and they did not keep time, and everybody got a first place medal.
Strategies to Eat Better
Copyright: Nancy Clark, MS RD, The Athlete’s Kitchen, February 2009
The Biggest Loser TV Contest: A Big Loser
As I write this article, I’m watching The Biggest Loser on TV. Many runners have been asking my opinion of this popular show, so I feel obliged to scream out: It’s terrible! It’s horrible! It’s abusive! I also feel like throwing my shoe at the TV. Here’s why—
The messages in The Biggest Loser are all about deprivation, denial, starvation, and punishment. Exercise is akin to torture. Food is the fattening enemy. The participants use sheer willpower to white-knuckle themselves through each grueling day. They are praised if they lose ten pounds in a week (as if they are now better people), scorned if they lose only two (as if they are scum of the earth), and ridiculed if the scale barely moves. The participants get no credit for having inner beauty that shines from the inside out, nor do they get treated as if they are decent people with tender feelings. The scale is the sole judge of their worthiness.
Right now on the TV, one contestant is yelling at another one for having failed to lose enough weight for their team to stay in the contest. It’s an ugly segment, as if the successful loser is superior to the other one. Doubtful. Being able to endure starvation is not a sign of superiority.
Now, another contestant is getting applauded and praised for having lost an outrageous amount of weight—14 pounds in a week. Everyone thinks that is just great, as if man is now a success. Yes, he might be fitter and healthier, but losing weight does not make anyone a better father, son, mother, or daughter. Same person, same problems.
What happens in the long run, when the Biggest Losers return to the real world with no personal trainer to snap the whip, with no pre-made, pre-portioned food, and no “fat camp” dedicated to full time weight loss? Inevitably, without rigid vigilance, the weight will return with a vengeance. The physiological response to starvation is to overcompensate (commonly known as “binge eating” or “blowing the diet”). This desire to over-eat has little to do with willpower and lots to do with physiology. Just as a person gasps for air if oxygen has been withheld, the same person will grab for carbs if food has been withheld.
The unfortunate message perpetuated by The Biggest Loser is “eating is cheating.” False. Eating satisfies a physiological requirement for food. Just as people need to sleep, urinate, and breathe, they also need to fuel their bodies, ideally with appropriate portions of healthful foods. Yet, you don’t need to eat a “perfect” diet to have a good diet. There’s little harm in enjoying a slice of pizza or piece of birthday cake. The E in eating should stand for Enjoyment, not for Excruciating hunger.
The E in Exercise should also stand for Enjoyment. When exercise feels like punishment for having undesirable body fat, the day will come when that dieter no longer feels like whipping his or her body into shape and instead reverts to lazing on the couch. The Biggest Losers lose-out in the long run, because extreme diets (either on TV or in your life) teach nothing about sustainable eating and exercise practices that can be enjoyably maintained for the rest of one’s life. What about moderation, balance, quality of life?
So how does a runner lose undesired body fat? Not by dieting! We know that diets do not work. If diets did work, then every person who has ever been on a diet would be lean. We know from research that students who dieted in middle school still struggled with weight in high school. None of their efforts to lose weight resulted in the desired outcome. (1) Rather, diets linked with hunger, denial and deprivation of favorite foods set the stage for binge eating and weight gain. Hence, the question arises: Do diets contribute to the obesity problem? Perhaps. The first 6 months of food restriction tend to result in fat loss. But then, the fat generally creeps back (if not rapidly returns)—plus more.
It’s time to take a different look at how to lose weight. A new task force on obesity suggests people chip away at losing undesired body fat by eating just 100 calories less per day (and for non-exercisers, moving 100 calories more). (2) This contrasts to the Biggest Loser approach of skimping on breakfast, nibbling on salad for lunch, and exercising exhaustively on fumes—all unsustainable efforts that require enduring extreme hunger. How about eating just a little bit less at the end of the day: two fewer Oreos, one less can of soda pop, a smaller snack while watching TV? How about trade-in grueling workouts to burn off calories for meaningful ways to train, with proper fueling and refueling techniques, plus days with little or no exercise. The rigor of hard training can lose its glow; even runners need rest days and an “off season.”
Food for thought
I repeat: Eating is not cheating! The trick to losing weight is to learn how to eat appropriately—a difficult task in an obesity-producing society. A sports dietitian can help you create a personalized food plan that embraces food as one of life’s pleasures. You can find this weight management expert using the referral network at www.SCANdpg.org.
People who eat appropriately tend to be thin; dieters tend to be heavy. Clearly, the eating approach to weight management paves the road to success! To manage to eat wisely, we need to learn how to manage stress, get enough sleep, exercise our bodies enjoyably, and take care of our souls. Curiously, this self-care has little to do with food...
Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD (Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics) counsels both casual and competitive athletes in her practice at Healthworks, the premier fitness center in Chestnut Hill MA (617-383-6100). Her Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Food Guide for Marathoners, and Cyclist’s Food Guide are available via nancyclarkrd.com. See also sportsnutritionworkshop.com.
References
1. Neumark-Sztainer, D., M. Wall, J. Guo, M. Story, J. Haines, and M. Eisenhberg. 2006. Obesity, disordered eating, and eating disorders in a longitudinal study of adolescents: How do dieters fare five years later? J Amer Diet Assoc 106:559-568.
Hill, J Can a small change approach help address the obesity epidemic? A report of the Joint Task Force of the American Society for Nutrition, Institute of Food Technologists, and International Food Information Council. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2009; 89(2): 477-484
http://www.jeffgalloway.com/resources/newsletter.html
Guess they thought it was a soccer game?
but only bruce springsteing got paid like bruce springstein
HOW UNFAIR!!!! (he should, as an obama voter, immediatly turned over his pay check for redistribution)
For those that don’t watch the show, the marathon had nothing to do with his advancing as a contestant. He had in-fact already been bounced off the show. His wife had been training for a marathon and he’d thought it be cool to see how well he’d do.
The fact that NBC interfered with the race didn’t do anything to help Dane’s standing on the show other than (falsely) show him finishing a race.
The fact that he lost 100 pounds in 8 weeks and then ran 17 miles a month or two later just amazes the hell out of me.
In other words within four months he went from a 400 pound couch potato to (almost) running a full marathon.
I agree, running/walking 17 miles is an accomplishments in and of itself - shame on the producer and contestant.
I can understand about being upset because of NBC faking a finish for their guy, but take it in perspective: the dude just dropped 130lbs and then ran a marathon. 23 miles is quite an accomplishment under those circumstances.
Great example of the best being the enemy of the good.
Running 17 miles would have been a good and inspiring story, but the show was so focused on “the best” (saying they completed a marathon) they totally missed the good story in their hand.
This is an interesting article, but I suspect the author hasn't spent too much time watching the show, because what inevitably happens each season is that one or more of the contestants will try to lose more weight by eating less, only to find that in eating less, they lose less weight.
The people on the show repeatedly emphasize that the contestants have to eat in order to be successful at losing weight.
3:53 is an excellent time for a marathon. I have run three and trained relentlessly for each one, yet my best time has been 4:20 ( a consistent 9 minute pace). His pace would be more like 7:49-8:00 mi pace. Not impossible, but unlikely.
symbolism over substance.
Unfortunately, The "Boss" was really singing. Sounds and looks like he is always taking a crap.
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