Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for December 10, 1978

Transcript:

Mark: We'll be back with more news after this... Mom! Pop! Kids! Do you suffer from painful swelling? We're back and comin' atcha with another "Profile on Parade"! Today's guest-runner Trevor Ferguson, who recently set a new record by completing the New York City marathon in just over 41 days! Mark: Trevor, getting right to the tough question, were you satisfied with your time? Man: Well, not really, Mark, but you have to understand - like most joggers, I'm from the upper middle class... for an East Side lawyer, part of the great appeal of the New York marathon is that it cuts through all five of the city boroughs, giving us a rare glimpse at how the other half lives. Frankly, I was enchanted. At mile five, I couldn't resist stopping to chat with a group of Hasidic Jews. At mile ten, it was an Italian street fair, and then a bed-sty stickball game, and so on, until I reached Harlem. It was there I "hit the wall." A lovely Hispanic girl offered me a drink. We fell in love. I got a job at a drug rehabilition center, but then, abruptly, her father broke it off. he said I wasn't good enough, that I was just a carpetbagger in shorts! Mark: And that's when you decided to finish the race? Man: Right. See, I had to get back downtown, where I knew I'd be accepted.