Ryan Reynolds, Another Celebrity Marathon Runner

It's that time again...time for yet another post about a celebrity marathon runner.  

In 2008 Ryan Reynolds ran the New York City Marathon in an impressive 3:50:22.  You may have seen Ryan in The Green Lantern, and like the super hero, Ryan was equally impressive in his running of the marathon, he was also a team member of Michael J. Fox's Foundation for Parkinson Research, in honor of his father who suffers from Parkinson's disease.

Ryan called running the New York City Marathon, incredible!  He told reporters after crossing the finish line, "I'm still standing.  I'm very excited about that".  Ryan was motivated in the last leg of the race when he saw Michael J. Fox on 5th Avenue, he says he gained about 15 pounds in goose bumps.  It helped push him through the last 6 miles of the race.

Ryan ran with team Fox in honor of his father who has suffered from Parkinson's disease for the last 15 years.  While racing Ryan thought of his father and the 500,000 other people who suffer from the disease in America alone, and said, "I ran for those who can't".  He was greeted at the finish line in Central Park by his mother Tammy and brother Terry.  When asked how he was going to celebrate, he joked, "I'll probably celebrate by eating my own body weight in raw dough".

In a letter Ryan wrote to the Huffington Post explaining why he was running the N.Y.C. Marathon, he wrote, "Let it be known at the outset, I am not a runner. I am a running joke. Waking up at 4:30 am and jogging anywhere from 11 to 23 miles has been nothing short of horrifying. Although, I've never given birth to a professional basketball player through one of my tear ducts, I can't imagine a worse way to start the day. Conversely, some people have real problems. I digress"...

Further on in the letter he wrote, "One of the reasons I chose RUNNING specifically, was because (as Murakami so eloquently put it) my competition is the most formidable foe of all; ME. The person I have to beat is the guy I was last week. The person I was yesterday. Indescribably worse, those affected by Parkinson's wage a similar war in their own bodies every single day. Unlike a marathon, their struggle won't end in a shallow pool of vomit just outside Tavern On The Green while waiting for an ambulance. They continue day in and day out, silently battling away in the most personal of struggles."


On a lighter note...

Ryan also played the superhero, The Green Lantern, in 2011.  In the movie, a cocky test pilot is granted an alien ring that gives him otherworldly powers...as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron that is tasked with keeping peace within the universe.  You may recall this great tag line from the movie..."In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight, let those who worship evils might, beware my power, Green Lantern's Light." Or this one..."In our darkest hour, there will be light."

 

Personally speaking, Ryan is one of my favorite actors.  I especially loved him in "Definitely Maybe"  he was just such an adorable dad.  I hope you have enjoyed this week's installment of Celebrity Marathon Runners.

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck.

"Limitations only exist if you let them"

© 2012 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.