Brian O'Neill: Driving the Pittsburgh Marathon now officially faster than ... - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

I walked into Peter Leo’s Squirrel Hill home and he didn’t try to hide his disappointment. He was wearing gray sweat pants topped with a gray “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 1786-1986” sweatshirt. As a veteran of the Pittsburgh Marathon course, he couldn’t believe my lack of preparation. “These are the road grays,’’ he said. Our intention was to beat Peter’s time of May 1986, when he completed the 26. 2-mile course in 2 hours, 13, minutes, 41 seconds. Peter wrote a legendary PG column about it: “Marathon’s no sweat if you’re driven and good in the clutch. Peter ran the marathon in a Buick Skylark. Peter would drive, just as Bob Patla, official artist of the Peter Leo column, drove him. As we rode through the Strip District toward the Downtown starting line of the race set for next Sunday morning, Peter liked our chances. Soon, we were at the Liberty Avenue starting line. Peter gave a double-take when I told him I hadn’t brought a stopwatch. ”I’m not seeing the crowds,’’ he said driving down Liberty. ”I don’t think Volkswagen makes them anymore,’’ I said. “Roxanne’’ came on the radio, which seemed to put Peter back in his 1980s prime. Source: www.post-gazette.com