[kabar]

It should be fairly easy to check and see if Kerry actually did run in the Boston Marathon. The results should be available if he finished and he had to register for the race. I don't know if Boston had qualifying times for entry during the 1970s. As a marathoner myself (only 5), I remember my times in all of them. I suspect that Kerry never ran in the Boston Marathon, or at least didn't complete it.

[speekinout]

I know people who entered marathons, but didn't complete them. They for sure remember every detail of how long they ran, where they quit, and why they quit.
Not finishing seems to be more memorable than finishing.

We know he never ran a marathon, don't we?

[singfreedom]

Isn't it unusual for a marathoner to forget his finish time? My brother was a marathoner and he remembered his finish time from every marathon he ever ran.

[dennisw]

Back in the 1970s many ran the Boston Marathon without registering. But if he ran it legitimately, then his time and entry was recorded and archived.

IIRC: To run it unofficially you wait for the initial crowd of serious runners and registered runners to make their start. Then you go.