Will Ferrell finishes Boston Marathon in four hours

Posted Tuesday, April 22, 2003 at 10:38 AM Central

by Tim Briscoe

Will Ferrell doesn't seem the type to be serious about anything. We all know him from his days as a regular on "Saturday Night Live" and most recently in the surprise hit Old School. But aside from his identity as a comedian, Ferrell is also a serious runner.

That intensity showed on Monday when Ferrell completed the Boston Marathon in 4 hours, 2 minutes and 39 seconds. That was good for 9,282nd place -- compare that to the 17,567 who started the race and the 17,046 who finished the 26.2-mile run. His goal was to break the 4 hour mark, but he narrowly missed that.

Ferrell ran the race sporting bib number 9999 and wearing a black t-shirt and headband. He wasn't an instantly noticeable figure in his sunglasses, mustache and curly hair. The mustache and curly hair weren't a disguise or an attempt to be funny. They were for Anchorman, a film set in the groovy '70s.

Will's wife Viv, also a runner, entered the Boston race with him. The couple started running a few years ago. Will and Viv ran the New York City marathon in 2001 when he was star on SNL; he finished that race in a little over five hours. At last summer's Stockholm run, he finished in just under four and a half hours. So, his Boston time was a marked improvement.

In an interview with the Associated Press before the run, Ferrell said, "Running a marathon is not a question of whether it will be painful, but when it will be painful. It does help to have a sense of humor, but I'm also respectful of the race." Will showed his humorous side running the NYC marathon when he played a joke on his coach by pretending to stop along the route to visit a friend. Before this race, he commented on his intentions for Boston, "As long as the guy in the Gumby costume doesn't pass me, or someone dressed like Elvis, I'll be OK... I'm going to try not to cry, or wet my pants."

You can see Will do some fun running in Old School, which arrives on video and DVD on June 10. In one scene, he streaks naked.