I think that press release came from a defense lawyer, not plaintiff’s counsel.

And knowing one prior 10K time doesn’t really help, without knowing when the accident even was, or what condition she was in at the time of the races. I’ve run better and faster in my 40s than in my 30s. Better training, better eating, etc. Even if all other things were equal, which they never are, simply better weather could easily account for a few minutes.

The most important bit of info would be, of course, what her actual testimony was with respect to her limitations at the time of the race.

While that is somewhat slower than Zamora’s 2003 time, I would think the difference between being 36 and 41 readily accounts for the two or three minutes.

What’s remarkable is that the trial lawyer’s press release is shameless about having made a misrepresentation to the court, as if to say, Yeah, I got caught lying, but look how good I am that I still got over a million, and would’ve gotten more if I hadn’t got caught.

1. How fast could she run the race pre-injury as opposed to post-injury? Finishing such a race after a bad injury could be quite the triumph indeed. I’ve seen folks in wheelchairs and prosthetic legs run marathons. A friend of my ran a 5K after recovering from a broken neck. These are the just-won’t-quit types of folks we call role models. So running a race doesn’t mean, by itself, that the person hasn’t suffered an injury and disability that is compensable.

2. I’d be interested in knowing if she said she couldn’t run, or whether it was more difficult to run. Big difference. There isn’t any trial testimony that I saw quoted. And that would be pretty darn important for obvious reasons. That isn’t the type of thing where one should accept the paraphrasing of an advocate in a press release. You need the real words.

By the way, finish line photos are routine now. Commercial photogs take the pics and sell them if they can to the runners and race organizers will get a buck or two per pic.

Hugo, the defense atty, said he got the picture of the “disabled” plaintiff on the internet. Someone probably posted it on Flickr, another photo-sharing site, or the organizers of the race took pictures of all the finishers.

Hopefully, you are not saying that the plaintiff’s privacy was invaded by the picture of her participating at a public event.