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Where’s Dave? The NYC Marathon!

May 6, 2010 68 Comments

Photo copyright Robert Yager

What has David Lee Roth been up to since the 2007-2008 Van Halen tour? It seems that a few months ago he took part in the NYC Marathon. Here’s the VH-related excerpt from The Huffington Post story:

More than 40,000 people of all shapes and sizes are taking part in this year’s New York York City Marathon. While the field features several elite athletes, the vast majority of entrants are average Americans running for the love of the race (and maybe to drop a few pounds, too).

The New York City Marathon is considered to be the world’s largest and, since its founding in 1970, has become one of the most popular. Over 2 million spectators line the streets, bridges, and roadways of New York to watch the racers run (and let’s face it, sometimes walk), while another 315 million watch on TV.

Below you’ll find some fun facts and trivia about the marathon. While it may not be as impressive as actually competing in the event, you can be sure that knowing these will make you the most popular person at your marathon party!
1. Some Celebrity Marathoners Are Actually Pretty Good. While the likes of David Lee Roth (6:04:43) and Mike Huckabee (5:33:39) did about as well as you’d expect them to do, some celebs who’ve tried their hand at marathon running have put in some respectable times. William Baldwin (3:24:29), Meredith Baxter (4:08:30), and Anthony Edwards (3:55:40), who’s running it again this year, have some of the best celebrity times in the New York City Marathon. Of course Lance Armstrong blows these times out of the water with his 2:46:43 finish, but we’re going to say that he’s in a slightly different category than everybody else.  [edit]

Sure seems like something Dave would do! This raises some interesting questions: Is he training for a Van Halen tour? Was he wearing Eddie’s new EVH striped running shoes?

This reminds of of Dave’s old quote, “I used to run, but the ice cubes kept falling out of my glass…”

Photo copyright Robert Yager

These Behind-the-scenes photos from the Van Halen tour are copyright Robert Yager.

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Filed Under: David Lee Roth
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  • phil

    ha awesome! go get em dave! it’s good to hear of a dlr sighting!

  • http://www.joshwithers.com/band/gallery.html jjwithers

    those are some great behind the scenes photos. Much better then seeing diamond dave in a skimpy running outfit.

  • Roth_the_Scissors_Kicker

    Dave is the coolest dude to ever walk the Earth. He loves life and squeezes every ounce from it. I bet he flew his helicopter the same morning as the NYC Marathon, and then probably delivered a couple babies later that night on his EMT shift in the Bronx. Shit, he probably even came up with a few lyrics for the upcoming VH album while he was huffin’ and puffin’ in his jogging shoes. Keep on rockin, Mr. Roth!

  • Darren from Staten Island

    Its a great thing to know a Cali guy loves New York. I know he kiyaked around Manhatten island and served as an EMT. He is awesome. I wonder if he did the bike-a-thon? I realy hope we get some real news soon. The silence is killing me.

  • Patrick

    Dave ran the NYC marathon.
    Valerie ran the Boston marathon.

    Now lets get Ed & Al off their arses and run the tour marathon!

  • http://www.qereach.com K. Reyoch

    The guy NEVER ceases to amaze. I’ve got nuthin’ but respect.

  • RickieVanWhalen

    You have to love all of the DLR quotes!

  • Keith

    I don’t think this post is true. I have friends in NYC and they are runners. They never heard or saw of him. Any proof ?

  • Keith

    Those pictures are from the reunion tour, NOT the marathon

  • Dooley

    Maybe Dave did run the in NYC marathon. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if he did. He’s the type of guy who does a lot of different things in his life. But you can’t stay in disguise for an entire marathon. I’m not saying it’s bogus, or that Obama was born in Kenya. But I will say that whoever posted this at “HuffPo” should have sourced it better.

  • mjc

    keith you’re right,those pictures are 3years old!

  • Adam

    Umm, Keith, there were 40,000 runners there. And they were *running*. Roth would have been incognito in a hat & shades, not wearing spandex and doing flying leaps off a drum riser. Do you think it’s possible that your friends in NY might not have even come anywhere near him, let alone recognized him if they had?

    Also, congrats on figuring out these pics are from the tour and NOT the Marathon! Can I ask how you could tell?

  • http://www.cabowabo.com No Mas Tony

    lOl @ Adam’s comments. My thoughts as well. :-)

  • Roth_the_Scissors_Kicker

    All you people questioning whether Roth was in the 2010 NYC Marathon are crazy. Of course Dave would do something like that. After all, he once hacked his way through the New Guinea jungle just for the adventure! You gotta remember this is a dude who doesnt like sitting in a studio noodling all day like chain-smoking Eddie Van Winkle. Dave is an adrenaline junkie and looking at his hobbies is all the proof you need — helicopter pilot, urban EMT, kung fu master, rock climber, kayaker, strip club connoisseur, etc. I fully expect Dave to enter an Iron Man triathlon soon.

  • Paul

    Quick FYI, he lifted that quote from Dean Martin.

  • Dooley

    scissors…we’re not crazee (Slade spelling). I know all the examples you cite about Dave are true. He’s that kinda (Chickenfoot spelling) guy. All I’m really saying is that “HuffPo” should have sourced it better.

  • Jimmy

    SO – ANY News of a TOUR?????????????

    Does anybody have any ideas? Rumors?

  • Skutch

    Dave loves life and you gotta love him for that.

  • Vnhalen8

    Roth Scissors:
    Roth a mountain climber? During the Skyscraper photo shoot Dave was scared shitless, he was begging the photog to quick snap the pictures and was bitching about being cold. Hey, I love the dude but come’on.

    Long Live the Jungle Studs!

  • http://vhnd the booger man

    maybe Dave is just throwing that out there. Kinda like when he claimed to drive his car across the US for the MTV awards.

  • http://vhnd.com 51yr old fan

    seems to me both dave and ed are running. in 2 different directions.

  • DJB

    I noticed Dave’s time- 6:04:43- sorry but that is a horribly slow time. Our fine friend is aging.

  • mjc

    51yr old fan,that’s a great observation.Dave should tell lazy Ed to fuck off and hook up with Vai.

  • jim

    Dave’s time is extremely slow. I always thought anything slower than 4 hrs would need to include a lot of walking.

    However, understanding a big race like this – he probably didn’t arrive way before the start which would be needed to start in the viscinity of the start. Could have even got there late. At that pace, it’s pretty much just a moving party with a lot of socializing. He probably was around a bunch of people he knew. Nevertheless, good for him. Gotta give him and all the VH’s and former VH staff – They know how to live life, stay out of trouble and stay out of situations that result in trouble.

  • Bill

    2005 DAVID ROTH M51 IN 4:33:20

    This is the only entry I can find of him, only time he ran was 2005.

  • Bill

    1987 DAVID ROTH M33 CA

    This may be him too. The age fits.

  • dlrevhsh

    I would expect dave to do something like this but i dont think he did, this year anyway. i think this is just an attempt from vhnd to get a post about Van Halen cause its pretty much just chickenfoot lately. go back and read that article it seems as tho that article was writen before the marathon and it just states DLR’s time witch could be from a previous year and then says william baldwin and some other guys times then says “they are competing again this year”.
    go back and read it tell me if im right…
    And everyone questioning the pictures they are from the tour it even says in the post. They have been on DLR’s website for like 2 years now

  • MICAL VEE

    Adam,i loved your smart ass comments to keith…CLASSIC!!!!!!!!! As to how he figured out those were not photos from the NYC marathon…elementary my dear watson!!!

  • phillster

    The 1st post on “DIAMONDDAVE” in a while and all the “VanHaters” start acting like it`s a political campaign,conspiricy theories and all.
    You just can`t help yourselves to rip all over this story.
    For Shame.

  • http://www.cabowabo.com No Mas Tony

    Ok, here’s the confusion: the article was written *prior* to the NYC marathon taking place. If you read the article in the Huffington post carefully, as dlrevhsh says, you’ll see that they don’t actually say that Dave ran in 2010. And sadly, he didn’t. I say “sadly”, because it would be really nice to hear *ANY* Dave sighting… I’ll even settle for another drug bust in Times Square at this point.

    (Good fact checking by Bill, btw.)

    You can’t blame the VHND though, they didn’t write the article… just the headline, which kinda leads you to believe he was at the 2010 marathon.

    Of course, we all know that Dave is really busy climbing Mt Everest, painting masterpieces to rival DaVinci, saving lives as an EMT, Fighting Kung Fu with the Shao Lin clan, slaying dragons and recording a new album with DLR band. (that last part he might actually be doing) ;-)

  • pirate1821

    Dave finished the race nearly two hours behind the mom from “Family Ties”.

  • redarrow5150

    Hey how is the new album coming along?

  • Atomic Pete

    So now people are complaining that Dave’s marathon time was
    too slow.Maybe he got there late? People please.

  • Where’s Dave?

    Why is Eddie giving Dr. Zachary Smith from Lost in Space the stink eye in that first picture.

  • Keith

    @ Adam & MICAL vee, if you were a regular to VH posts, you would’ve seen those pics 2 yrs ago posted from the reunion. Check your facts , Geez

  • Keith

    @Adam … Don’t you think someone, anyone, would have noticed the world famous DLR in a marathon and made a post, you tube, anything ??? Yeah, thats how you can tell.

  • http://vhnd surfyour momma

    give him a break but he is a fit dude for his age
    dlr is a classic

    i wish hed get another radio gig
    i really did enjoy it most of the time
    wtf is going on with the tour this year??

  • Phil

    He lives! Hey, he finished, more than good enough. Like to see Sammy do it. DLR doesn’t do push ups, he pushes the world down.

  • mac vh

    Hope he did not run by the spot where he got caught trying to buy some Kona!

  • Vanicionado

    Keith… did you read the story? The line under the bottom pic states: These Behind-the-scenes photos from the Van Halen tour are copyright Robert Yager.

  • Herb

    Phil that is quite possibly the DUMBEST Sam vs Dave comparison I’ve seen to date. Sorry, but it’s just so incomprehensibly dim.

  • freddiegirl

    Seems like something Dave would do at some point regardless if it was this year or a prior time. I’ve always respected that about Dave; that he would go out and try things and have adventures. Love that shot of him and Eddie backstage. I agree, I think Dave is one of the coolest people on the plantet; certainly the coolest rock star…..yet I still love Eddie more. Despite everything. Fun post!

  • Roth_the_Scissors_Kicker

    How can Dave be afraid of rock climbing? He looked like he was having a blast swinging from a rope 2000 feet up on the face of El Capitan in the “Just Like Paradise” video! You gonna tell me that was faked in front of a green screen? Dave doesnt fake stuff, he goes out looking for adventure. Dave said it best himself — “I’ve gone places with my face you wouldn’t go with a pistol”.

  • Bill

    They haven’t even ran the 2010 race yet. They are talking about 2009 race, but Roth hasn’t ran since 2005.

    If you Google past results, the 6:04:43 time is from when Roth ran the race in 1983, far from recent and not the “few months ago” that the VHND is reporting. Get your facts straight guys!

  • bobalu

    People have way too much time on their hands googling for Dave’s marathon time? WTF?

  • http://vhnd.com 51yr old fan

    hey phil, from what i can tell sammy doesn’t have time to run a marathon he is to busy making music for us fans. sam is still employed has a rockstar.

  • Dooley

    Props to Keith. You called it out right, man.

  • Roth_the_Scissors_Kicker

    I find it impossible to believe Dave’s marathon time in 1983 was 6:04:43 — just watch any of the ’83 South American tour footage. He was in phenomenal shape! He could’ve kicked the nuts off Lance Armstrong back in those days (no pun intended).

    Doesn’t the NYC Marathon have a website that shows all official registrants so we can end this controversy once and for all? This story is getting stranger by the day and I’m getting fed up with some of you thinking Diamond Dave can’t even beat Alex P. Keaton’s mom in a race….

  • phillster

    SO The “F” WHAT if Diamond Dave didn`t run THIS year??!!!
    MAYBE he has MORE pressing business to attend to.
    The TRASH TALK over such a mundane article is staggering.
    It appears that anyone who`s a fan of the “VanHagar”-era is immediately Threatend by any news that DiamondDave not only exists But still lives a much more interesting&fufilling life than them.
    It`s the same desperate jibberish that comes from fear-fear that a new album from Roth OR =VH=Roth will Dominate the media more than
    “CHKNFT”.
    Pathetic “whiners” the bunch of you.

  • Towers McQuestion

    All I can say is, if your massage hurts you as much as Dave’s apparently does, you have a BAD masseuse lol.

    Hey, the guy’s got to do something waiting for the hermits to come out of their 5150 caves. He knows full well what happens to members who go out and do their own thing musically… they get the boot in the ass. Good thing Dave has other interests.

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