December 14, 2008

Okajima: Marathon Man

Hideki Okajima finished the Honolulu Marathon today -- his first marathon -- in 6:10:26.

On Friday, Amalie Benjamin reported that a team official "said the Sox were not pleased and would have discouraged him had the team been apprised of his decision."

18 comments:

laura k said...

Nice showing for his first marathon. Good thing the team wasn't apprised.

Now if he has a bad start, everyone can blame the marathon.

Benjamin said...

I suppose he could've blown out a knee or something, but otherwise he's got a couple full months to recover. It's not like he entered into a competitive arm-wrestling tournament.

Unknown said...

Thats a pretty awful time, right? Didn't P. Diddy do it in like four and a half?

laura k said...

No, it's a decent time for someone who's not a marathon runner. Not sure what P Diddy has to do with it.

Unknown said...

P. Diddy had some TV show or something called "P. Diddy runs the City" where he trained for the New York marathon. At the end, he ran it in right around 4:30, about 10 minutes before Oprah.

This is really my only knowledge about marathons; other than watching and cheering people as they run down Comm Ave. I just sort of figures P Diddy + Oprah couldn't be much better than average for non-marathon runners, but I really don't have anything to base it on.

laura k said...

Oprah's been running for a very long time.

For a non-pro, anything under 5 hours is good.

So 6:10 is not fast, but it's not awful. Most people don't even finish their first marathon.

johngoldfine said...

Has H.O. ever heard of Jim Lonborg, do you think...?

I can't agree, L-girl, about times. For a young man, a professional athlete, 6 hours and change seems awfully slow.

johngoldfine said...

Next Patriots Day, he could start in Hopkinton, but instead of finishing, just hang a right in Kenmore Square, putt over to Fenway, shower and suit up.

laura k said...

I know what you're saying, but different sports don't necessarily translate to each other. Remember Michael Jordan playing baseball?

johngoldfine said...

I'd argue and adduce my wife, the marathoner, for evidence about Jeemer's lameness (so to speak), but I've just been over to wmtc and am so pleased for you and so enjoyed the dog posts that I'm going to let you off tonight.

laura k said...

Whew, what a relief.

Grand Cards said...

I've got to disagree with L-Girl as well. I ran this marathon today and Okajima was behind countless middle-aged women who haven't run more than a 10k. For a professional athlete, he had a very slow time. That said, even completing a marathon is a pretty major feat and any complete training program should have started in August or September (while baseball was still in season), which means that he may not have been in in peak marathon condition. He probably just wanted to enjoy the camaraderie and tropical weather something that you don't need a fast time to do. Congrats to him!

Benjamin said...

He finished 1:15 behind an 81-year-old runner.

But given the driving rain that was soaking the event, I'm glad he did plenty of walking. The potential for slipping and seriously injuring himself must've been high.

Zenslinger said...

I did the "Shark Fest" swim from Alcatraz to shore here in San Francisco. I did train for it some because swimming in the Bay is something you have to get used to. I finished behind a dog who competed. Way behind him. Didn't care -- just wanted to do it!

Unknown said...

Ah, the offseason. The time of year when marathon-finishing times are the only thing worth talking about on a Red Sox website.

This is almost like Manny watching his homeruns. Joyofsox won best canadian sports blog, and we're talking about P. Diddy's marathon time. Take that, Beijing 2008!

andy said...

diversify.

ha ha worse than oprah

Geopat said...

Sounds like Oki was having a little fun. He was probably secure in the knowledge that Oprah, P.Diddy, the 81 year old, and all those out of shape ladies can't control the corners, make the best hitters in MLB look like little leaguers, and tip their hats to an adoring Fenway crowd after yet another fine appearance. It also fits well the iron-man portfolio he brought to Boston. Humans are built to run!

Anonymous said...

"Baseball players aren't athletes"

As a chronic marathoner and a Sox fan, I have to say I'm proud of him, regardless of his finishing time.