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Song Parodies -> "I Am A Tired Runner In A Super-ultramarathon"

Original Song Title:

"I am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General"

Original Performer:

Gilbert & Sullivan

Parody Song Title:

"I Am A Tired Runner In A Super-ultramarathon"

Parody Written by:

Peter Andersson a.k.a K1chyd

The Lyrics

Ultramarathon 101: An ultramarathon is "any race longer than a normal marathon". The first definition I ever heard was "any race equal to or longer than 100 kilometers" but either that was to fool me or the bar has since been lowered by organizers so as to tempt more regular marathon slackers to pay up entrance fees. Races are based on distances or time; 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours and 48 hours are popular formats as well as 100 kilometers, 100 miles, multiday races and even cross continental events well deserving of the adjective super to their name, but that has been added to this song in the spirit of artistic license, and as facts alone can never do this sport justice I'll add this intro up with two quotes from sports columnist, ultra advocate and three times Spartathlon (246 kilometers) winner Rune Larsson who have (as best I can translate it) said "It's a feeling like no other to run through your second sunrise - of the same race" and "I always know I've done my best when I cross the finish line and they have to take me to an ICU for a nigh of infusions".
THE RUNNER:
I am a tired runner in a super-ultramarathon
I'm miles behind the leader, from this town he is already gone
I know that doesn't matter, and I'll pace up chronological
In Rotterdam or in Peru I'll catch him categorical

I'm very well acquainted with the feeling of a bloody gall
I understand biology, I'm filled up carbohydrical
I'm learning as I run, that is an upside of good stamina
My expertise is buzzard flight and road kill stains examina'

SPECTATORS:
He is a tired runner in a super-ultramarathon
With devastating tremors like a sniper who's got Parkinson
We cannot help to wonder if his mind or just his legs are gone

THE RUNNER:
I'm very good at limping on when I have come to hit the wall
I've discount prize at ICUs and Pizza Huts and K-Mart malls
It's not a very sexy sport, each lawn's a toilet after dark
But that's the way we have to go, and why Old Yeller's out to bark

SPECTATORS:
That scent they reek, their aura, it's pepper spray, it's their cologne
But there is nothing in this world to help their type of bunion

THE RUNNER:
I run the way a woman talk, I never, ever, ever stop
I've worn down every shoe there is, just look at how they flip and flop
I once ran lost in North Iraq and also lost a stinking sock
Somebody launched it on the Kurds, it wiped out fourtyseven blocks

For underwear I do not care since once they got extensive rot
I smell so bad that nosy dogs don't even try to sniff my but
In short, the way I'm travelling on asphalt and on forest paths
I am the very model of an athlete who could use a bath

SPECTATORS:
It's really quite amazing how their races' clocked with almanacs
And zombie movies owe them big from raiding stores for fatty snacks
In every way considered normal they are going of the tracks

THE RUNNER:
I'm outrun up a raising hill by Baywatch guards in slow-mo drive
But on the beach they take a dive and I'm the one who stays alive
Next week I've passed through Waco, Cork and France and Bern and Amsterdam
I'm still an active runner in this super-ultramarathon

SPECTATORS:
If slowing down he makes a stop at Taco Bell to get the runs
OK, OK, that was a lie we made up on the run, a pun

THE RUNNER:
We do more miles 'fore nine o'clock than army sergeants in a day
Set up a fun run in our path, we'll join it if it's on the way
Our armpits counts as WMDs hence winners never raise a hand
A runner up forgot that once and took out half of Swaziland

My wife complained she did not get to do or see enough of me
We met up downhill in the alps, it must have been a sight to see
I have a house, and car I think, she's phoning, I can hear her weep
Next year I'll make a pit stop and she'll get to use me during sleep

SPECTATORS:
His wife complained about the way he's always running marathon
Though quality not quantity's the way he thinks she should be done
The force within his loins been measured 700 megatons

THE RUNNER:
Race newbies are worn out too quick if they are off like mercury
The current one's been on since the beginning of the century
From all those rainy thunderstorms and chores that I have undergone
I am a tired runner in a super-ultramarathon

SPECTATORS:
It kinda helps that he is nuts, the line is long gone overdrawn
He's always and forever in a super-ultramarathon


© Peter Andersson. (I have not yet done an ultra myself but this parody has been 14 months in the making, that almost counts as an equivalent, doesn't it?)

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Voting Results

 
Pacing: 4.8
How Funny: 4.9
Overall Rating: 4.8

Total Votes: 20

Voting Breakdown

The following represent how many people voted for each category.

    Pacing How Funny Overall Rating
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 2   1
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 3   0
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 4   1
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 5   18
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User Comments

Comments are subject to review, and can be removed by the administration of the site at any time and for any reason.

Dylan Baranski - August 30, 2007 - Report this comment
You know, I think this song was actually the first rap song because the guy spits out rhymes at a rapid pace, plus he's in between singing & talking, just like rap music.
alvin - August 30, 2007 - Report this comment
lots of good rhyming good
Syncronos - August 30, 2007 - Report this comment
See? I'm set to run in a 5K on 9/3, and THIS will have me laughing to hard to maintain my pace!
Kristof Robertson - August 30, 2007 - Report this comment
Wowsers! They say the Magor-General brings out the best in writers, and you're continuing to prove that true! Bravo. 555
Cat - August 30, 2007 - Report this comment
BRA-freaking-VO, K1chyd!!! As a distance runner myself, I can definitely sympathize, and this was EXCELLENT! TMGLTM, but "Each lawn's a toilet after dark" and "wiped out half of Swaziland" were especially brilliant. (And Syncronos—ha! I have to do that race every single Saturday until Halloween!)
John Jenkins - August 30, 2007 - Report this comment
I've never done an ultra, but I've done regular marathons and can also relate to the humor, particularly the Swaziland and stinking sock couplets. Well done, K1chyd.
Dr. Bob - September 01, 2007 - Report this comment
A tour de force and great fun. Now to sing it while I run. Is 203 BPM about right?
Agrimorfee - September 10, 2007 - Report this comment
(SOTM) This was definitely different...I admire how your command of English words and slang adds so much to this parody. Very, very good!
Max Power - September 22, 2007 - Report this comment
Good
Red Ant - September 22, 2007 - Report this comment
Not sure how I missed this one - I certainly wasn't competing in one of these races, lol. Cat already picked out my faves, but "I run the way a woman talks, I never, ever, ever stop" made me laugh, too. 14 months in the making? wow, yeah, I'd say that counts. 555+
bobpiecheese - September 24, 2007 - Report this comment
(SOTM) Like most of the others here, I loved the 'wiped out half of Swaziland' line. Although it did take a while to pick a fave out of the all the lines in the song! TMGLTM Parody Of The Month, mate!
Matthias - September 24, 2007 - Report this comment
This one made me tired just reading it. Good job!!!
Ethan Mawyer - September 28, 2007 - Report this comment
There were a bunch of good lines, but it did start to drag on at the end. Not entirely unlike the feet of an inexperienced runner at the end of a regular marathon. The categorical line near the beginning didn't make much sense to me, and confusing people early without ever clarifying the source of confusion can neutralize a bunch of great lines.
Chronological/Categorical clarification - September 29, 2007 - Report this comment
Ethan: Maybe it's a running thing but I did not see the need for an intro comment about that too, though since you asked for it I will now deliver one here. There are basically two different approaches to long distance running. One is to open hard, ahead of your best previous schedule and ahead of as many opponents as possible, hoping that being ahead like that will give you extra mental strength to push on for as long as possible even though you know that you inevitably will loose at least some speed towards the end. The other is called running negative splits, meaning that you from the beginning set out to run the second half of a race faster than the first and done by running that first part in a hard but controlled speed, then picking it up and hoping that overcoming the opponents one by one in a categorical way will give you the extra mental strength to push all the way home for victory and/or personal best. And in an ultra marathon that goes on for days such categorical catching up can of course be done in a chronological way, so it's not a filler line, it's a real part of this extreme sport and I deliberately used what the original song handed me. // Peter
Jason - September 29, 2007 - Report this comment
(SOTM) 555 metre race?
Phil Alexander - September 29, 2007 - Report this comment
Thought I'd commented on this one already - starts well, and has a lot of good lines, but I don't think it's your best, I'm afraid.
Below Average Dave (badave.com) - September 29, 2007 - Report this comment
(SOTM) I don't think it drags on that badly;) I found it quite original, and funny. . .which is saying a lot because I have heard this song FAR TOO MANY TIMES in SOTM cotests, which as a recording parodist is kinda like UGH--because I will only record songs that would gather a lot of interest--but this one was worth the listen, thank you for submitting this.
wannabemustangjockey - September 29, 2007 - Report this comment
SOTM - I commend the obvious effort in this parody ... but I can't really love it and I'm not entirely sure why. It has its moments.
stuart mcarthur - September 30, 2007 - Report this comment
(SOTM) lots of unexpected nuggets in this marathon effort Peter, esp. "Somebody launched it on the Kurds, it wiped out fourtyseven blocks" and other similar self-deprecating runner gags - liked the one about your wife using you while asleep too - 555
Kristof Robertson - September 30, 2007 - Report this comment
(SOTM) This is still very entertaining, Peter...lots of great gag lines, and a coherent and interesting writing style. Top shelf.
Cat - September 30, 2007 - Report this comment
(SOTM) See above! Even though by now a sprained ankle's kept me off my running, still loving it!!!
Mikey Squirrel - September 30, 2007 - Report this comment
SOTM- I have to agree that this song always seems to be over-parodied, but your version is really good and very funny.
Ethan - September 30, 2007 - Report this comment
I know all about negative splits, having struggled mightily to actually achieve them during races or even splits close to even, but I hadn't heard of that term before. Thanks for clarifying.
McKludge - March 30, 2008 - Report this comment
SOTY - Maybe you should just sit down for a spell. Bonus points for touching a subject I don't think anyone has touched before.
Jeff Reuben - March 31, 2008 - Report this comment
One of the longest running songs in the competition! It's got the legs to go the distance.
Nick Zeman - May 19, 2008 - Report this comment
Peter, Well done nice and creative. I like how you came up with the idea of the spectators having lyrics that describe the runner being tired and thinking that we runners are nuts but the lyrics about the runner describe that he is not giving up no matter what. Those are similar lyrics that I will put in my next parody. Well thought out and great work.
Andrew Weber - October 04, 2008 - Report this comment
Recently ran the Baker Trail Ultra Marathon in PA.... only 9 hours - your song really speaks to me!!

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