It's easy to dismiss him as a lunatic who is so eager for media attention that he is willing to misrepresent his accomplishments. Many readers outside the sport wouldn't know the difference. But those inside the sport do know the difference, and it makes an ultrarunner cringe to see such ridiculous claims widely accepted and trumpeted in the general media. As ultrarunning emerges from the shadows into the glare of media scrutiny, it is more important then ever that the sport be portrayed in an honest light. Many people still find it hard to believe anyone can run farther than the marathon distance, let alone around the world.
Legitimacy is harder to come by in ultrarunning than in almost any other sport.
Thus, it is that much more damaging when that hard earned credibility is so readily cashed in to gain notoriety. For when even one fraudulent ultrarunner deceives the media, it reflects poorly on all who have invested so much of themselves in the sport. And that's a real shame.