He'll pull up with a groin pull after 5K. An old basketball injury or something. Miraculously, a car will appear out of nowhere to whisk him off to the finish for the waiting journalists.

He made a big deal with Oprah that he would beat her 4:30 Chicago Marathon time. Big Deal! I hope so! What is he about 30 years old and about 50# less than her. Give me a break here, I guess TV stars and athletes are not of the same character.

Aloha,

Larry

 
Why the vitriol?

I wish him the best. He's using his status to raise money for children's charities. Why are you people itching for him to fail?

On his website, he says:
"I think the hardest part of training for me has been changing my lifestyle. Cutting back on being out late, partying, working in the studio late, changing my diet. I've lost about 12 pounds and I hope to be lighter by the marathon. I was not the type of person that was into running before. I've grown to love it. It's given me time to think, clear my head and be alone. But most importantly, I've been extremely motivated by what this all means to kids. "

Seems unobjectionable to me.

I don't know him, his music, or anything about him. Maybe he dated all your sisters and was mean to them or something. Did he get in by lottery or no? What's up, folks?

Those of you taking potshots put your money where your mouths are -- if he finishes, kick in some money to one of the 3 children's charities. $10 per insult seem fair to start?

Why is everyone so negative here?

I believe he'll finish. He's raising a bunch of money for childrens's charities and some of it is contingent on him finishing. Also, some people are pledging a certain amount per mile he runs. I don't know if he'll get his goal time of breaking 4 hours, since he only started training 9 weeks ago and has had some knee issues lately, but he'll definitely finish.

And no, he won't be wearing "some ghetto sweat suit." I'm sure he'll be wearing some NIKE technical running gear. That's what he's been training in.

P Diddy quote:

When you're in the press, people really don't get a clear view of who you are. I really feel like the press has treated me fairly. You've got good days and you got bad days. I know I'm one of those people who get written about a lot, but I'm a big boy. I know how to handle it. But this is not to try and change people's minds about me. I'm not doing it to be on the cover of the paper, to have anybody pat me on the back. I'm doing this cause I've always wanted to run the marathon. And most importantly, I'm trying to support the children of New York.
I don't want to come into the race and bring a celebrity vibe. I just wanna be like a citizen of New York, running with the people. I don't want to bring no P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, music artist energy into the race. I just want to be at the start like the rest of the runners, and respect the tradition.

 
>you may recall he travels with bodyguards who kill
>people

I don't recall that at all (but I admit I don't follow celebrity news). What incident are you referring to?

He was found NOT GUILTY. So was his bodyguard.

Scum? Dirtbag? I'm sensing something else going on here...

So you don't even know how it turned out, but you make all those assumptions?

BTW, your account of what happened is incorrect. It wasn't even a bodyguard that was accused of the killing. Do a little research before you make public statements condemming someone. Anyone can be accused of something. It doesn't mean they are guilty. That's what judicial process is for.

The guy ain't mother theresa, but $1MM for charity is pretty impressive regardless. Isn't our sport just as much about the journey as the time? Why give him beef?

Check out his website (pretty fancy)...looks like he ran his 20 mile training run at 8 min pace...not bad for a first timer: http://www.diddyrunsthecity.com/soul.html

You need to chill out and watch the lingo...'some ghetto sweat suit' ?

I'm sure he'll be sporting Nike gear, but if he is, it'll probably be the his own brand that he started a few years ago (Sean John). He's created hundreds of millions of dollars of wealth for himself and came from nothing...he gives back to his community and is a role model for inner-city youths trying to better themselves. He's proof that hard work and determination can get you everything you need.

If you're going to put him down for actually doing something great instead of just writing a blank check - then doing something of equal significance yourself or pipe down and let those who can appreciate him, appreciate him.

>>Sorry to disappoint you Jaylew, not much going on other than a strong distaste for self-serving publicity seekers. If he succeeds, he has more to gain from good publicity than the charities do.<<

And you know all about his intentions how? A friend of mine is coaching him and said he (Sean) is serious about the run and even more serious about raising money for the kids. He (my friend) was a little leery at first about taking on this job, but has been pleasantly surprised with the motivation and athleticism. His main problem will be not having enough miles in his legs.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

 
I guess I still don't know what incident you are talking about. I googled and all I found was an incident in a nightclub that involved a shooting. Three people were injured, no one was killed. He was charged with wielding a gun during the incident, and was acquitted in a jury trial.

Are you saying that the publicity he'll get somehow outweighs or is more valuable than the $1million given to the charity? (And realistically... the guy's everywhere already. It's not like he needs the exposure.)

And who cares how or if it benefits Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, as long as it benefits the charity (and the kids)?

As Machiavelli said: "the end justifies the means".

As for what he's doing... have you thought about how many NYC children might want to emulate P. Diddy and take up running? Even if it's only ten kids, his celebrity status has gone for something good. It's a hell of a lot more admirable than doing something like sitting on a Harley and riding across the state raising money.

The guy's RUNNING 26.2 miles, for God's sake. I'll cheer for ANYONE who completes a marathon... for WHATEVER reason.

(By the way... does anyone know if the NYC Marathon will be televised? I can't seem to find it.)

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http://irondad06.blogspot.com/

http://irondad.blogspot.com/

TIVO says that NBC is covering the race. And since there's an NBC/LA broadcast listed, I assume it's national coverage, not just local NYC coverage.

(signed, she who lives BFE enough according to Nielson market research to get the NYC and LA network feeds from Directv)

Maybe we're getting confused between reality and the Law & Order episode based on the incident, in which someone was killed, and the bodyguard went up on gun charges.

I'm not a big fan of Puffy myself, mostly because he got rich singing over other people's music and because I have this weird delusion that the famous ARE obligated to behave as role models. But I guess I'm a hypocrite there since I do like gansta rap.(I love Dr. Dre! How's this: He's a badass on tape, but a happily married father of 3 with a great wife.)

If he's doing something that benefits others, then I wish him the best.

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I think we should send P-Diddy some love for running the marathon. Yes, he's getting a lot of publicity for himself, but he's also raising a million dollars for schools in NYC. Raising money for schools is a good cause, and I hope more people use their fame to help themselves and others. If I could throw around my name in order to raise money for education, I would. Here, let me try, "I'm doing Ironman USA next year. Please donate money to North Carolina public schools as a show of support. The NC schools are striving to improve, but given the current budget crisis in the state, we can use all of the help we can get!" Will my name draw a lot of attention, probably not. Would a famous musician's, probably.

As for him running the marathon, I think he'll give it his all. He's been pretty bold about his goal times and if he comes up short he'll have to explain why. I let other people know my goal times in certain races, but if I fail I'm not failing in front of the entire country, just my friends. I think that's a pretty bold move on his part and I hope he does well.

I wish him the best, as well as all of the other runners out there running for a cause and a goal time.

Adam "send money to NC schools" Pomerantz

agree...

let's give the guy a chance...and pray that he never attemps a Led Zep song again! (or then, he'll deserve an other slowtwitch kick his butt thread for good!)

I just saw the one hour special on MYV about this and he seems VERY committed to raise the money and MODERATELY committed to running well. He stays out late and gets drunk the night before a scehduled long run and leaves his coaches hanging waiting for him to show up at the meeting place. They call him on his cell and P.Diddy just turns it off and tells the cameras to leave, he needs to sleep.

I hope he does well as a lot of his donations are pledged per mile. But to go to Nike and have your gait analyzed, a shoe made for you, drag Alberto Saltazar out for his longest run in 10 years and then limp to the finish because you missed some runs from drinking doesn't impress me.

I'd be very suspicious about anything that comes out off MTV.
Maybe he actually does his long runs.
MTV just needs something/someone that "looks cooool, duuude"...
sure kids watching MTV thinks it's cool to see him sleeping late etc...
after all that's the channel that thinks it's cool to see people going down SF streets mall karts, etc...

I think it's too bad that David deleted his original post. there seems to be a fair amount of thread-killing lately. But that's not my point.

If anyone saw SNL last night, during Weekend Update, they pondered what Puffy running the NYC marathon today would look like. The scene went like this:

Puffy at the front in a baggy sweat suit. The starter says "Ready! Set!" and then fires the starting gun. Puffy pulls out his gatt, caps the starter, and then starts running.

So that's the caricature of him that exists in the public eye. You really can't hold the people on this forum to a less judgmental, totally accepting standard than everyone else, and you can't expect that perception to change overnight simply because he is doing some charity work.

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