The original commentary was, frankly, a goofy joking conversation. No one took him seriously at the time.
Hewitt took him seriously. I heard the interview and the follow up. Several serious marathoners called in and explained what a fast time that is and what kind of training it takes to get to that level. It sounded like you can be a top-flight marathoner or you can have an alternate life, but not both. Especially when your life is in politics. The callers sounded pretty skeptical, but Hugh didn't seem to catch that. He just thought, damn, an ideal conservative candidate and an all-American athlete to boot.