Fun stuff – Beat Ryan Reynolds…in a marathon

Not exactly the way I would go to prove a point, but kudos goes out to Tim Reid (not Venus Fly Trap from WKRP in Cincinnati), a business exec in NYC who has committed himself to beating the time set by actor Ryan Reynolds in the New York City Marathon. It is not just ego or pride at stake, of course. Tim is running to raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Good luck Tim!

You can find the full article from Joanna Molloy at the NY Daily News at http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/08/14/2009-08-14_life_of_ryan_this_guy_thinks_he_can_do_better.html, with an excerpt below.

(Excerpt)

Local runner aims to best actor Ryan Reynolds’ NYC marathon time for charity

Damn that Ryan Reynolds!

His career, his marriage to Scarlett Johansson, his corrugated abs – the actor has it all.

Then, last November, Reynolds had to go run the New York City Marathon in three hours, 50 minutes, and 22 seconds.

“In long black pants, no less,” says Tim Reid, who took 30 minutes longer to run the same 26.2 miles in 2004. In shorts.

The last straw for Reid came when the “Shape Up” issue of “Men’s Health” hit the mailbox.

“My wife, Michelle, saw Ryan on the cover with his shirt off – he always has his shirt off – and she said, ‘Wow, he’s really, he’s really … um, good looking.'”

Reynolds told the mag he doesn’t have to do cardio, because his “metabolism’s so fast.”

That’s enough to tick off everyone in the world, but Reid wants to do something about it – beat Reynolds’ time in the upcoming Nov.1 marathon.

Besting the man who drives the girls wild is a good enough cause, but Reid is running for another. He wants to raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Reynolds, one of the charity’s celebrity ambassadors, raised $100,000 for Fox’s foundation in last fall’s marathon.

Reid has $6,300 in pledges, but says he’s asking donors to double their donation through his Web site, www.beatingryanreynolds.com, “if I beat Ryan’s time.” His goal is $20,000.  (The article continues at http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/08/14/2009-08-14_life_of_ryan_this_guy_thinks_he_can_do_better.html#ixzz0ORRn0YKm)