Shizo Kanakuri

While I vacillate on an almost daily basis between embracing my slowness and just living with it, and actually doing something about being so slow by-you guessed it-running faster, I've discovered a runner who has me beat all to heck in the pace department. Shizo Kanakuri ran the marathon in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, that is, he ran part of the race, then stopped for a drink and a nap. Feeling great shame for not finishing the race, Mr. Kanakuri left Stockholm and returned to Japan without notifying the race officials; the Swedish officials considered him missing for about 50 years. Mr. Kanakuri was invited to return to Sweden and finish the race; thus, he has a finish time of 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 8 hours, 32 minutes 20.3 seconds (in running terms, would it be 54:08:06:08:32:20.3) which makes my 6 hour marathon finish seem pretty dang fast. I guess speed is all relative after all-isn't that what Einstein said?