UPDATED: 'Biggest Loser' issues a marathon apology for misleading viewers

It was an inspiring finish to this week's two-part episode of NBC's "The Biggest Loser": Dane, who lost 100 pounds in just eight weeks before being eliminated from the weight-loss competition, is seen running a marathon alongside his fit-and-trim wife and crossing the finish line in what appears to be an eye-popping time of three hours and 53 minutes.

Only it didn't happen. Dane got himself an assist to the finish line courtesy of a field producer. UPDATED: Here's the statement Dane released late Friday:

"I always intended to run the full marathon. At the 17th mile, I knew I would not make it in time to cross the finish line before it closed at 6 hours, so I then received a ride from the field producer, who wanted to show me crossing the finish line. He drove me for three miles, and then I ran the rest of the way. After all the filming was done I went back and finished the last 3 miles later that day with my wife and cousin Blaine. I apologize for stating that I ran the entire marathon before I actually ran the whole 26 miles. I am proud of the feat of just running 26 miles in one day."

Here's the statement issued earlier in the day by Reveille, one of the show's producers:

As the Executive Producers of The Biggest Loser we would like to make an official apology and set the record straight with regards to the claim in last nights episode that Dane completed a marathon in Arizona.

After seeing on various online blogs that this information may be inaccurate we investigated the claim and found that Dane had not indeed completed the marathon unaided. From our internal investigation we learned that Dane ran the first 17 miles before receiving a ride from the field producer for 3 miles before rejoining the race at the 20 mile mark whereupon he completed the race.

We are incredibly proud of Dane for running 23 miles and losing over 130 lbs on his weight loss journey so far and wish him luck as he continues his new healthy lifestyle. We have also taken the necessary action to ensure that there is no future misrepresentations and sincerely apologize for misleading our loyal viewers and it was certainly not our intent but an unwitting mistake.

We hope they will continue to be inspired and motivated by all of our contestants and follow them as they continue to change their lives.

Here's NBC's statement:

In the final segment of last night's episode of “The Biggest Loser,” which updated viewers on the status of an eliminated contestant, the former contestant was shown running a marathon in his home state of Arizona. NBC today learned that the contestant did not, in fact, run the entire marathon as depicted in the segment. Because the segment as aired was contrary to NBC policy, we are working with the program producers to determine how this occurred, and to ensure that corrective action is taken.

Sources close to the production said this is what happened:

Dane was eliminated on Thursday night’s show, kicked off by fellow contestants who believed –— rightly — that he was one of the front-runners to win the $250,000 prize that will be handed out to the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight. As is customary, the epilogue to the elimination is a segment in which the cameras catch up with the contestant today, to see whether the weight loss is continuing at home.

Dane’s epilogue was, seemingly, one of the most inspirational in recent memory when it was announced that he’d been training for and had completed a marathon.

But it turns out that an overeager field producer who was following Dane on race day realized that "The Biggest Loser" contestant would not finish the marathon by the six-hour cutoff time, which in turn meant that the producer would not get the footage of Dane crossing the finish line in personal victory. So the field producer picked Dane up in a vehicle and then dropped him a few miles closer to the finish. While the finish time in the background appeared to be 3:53, it was actually 5:53 — the descrepancy being caused by some bum lightbulbs on the time clock that made the 5 appear to be a 3, the source said.

The source also said Dane was so upset that he accepted the ride and didn't run the full distance that he went back later in the day — with his cousin Blaine, who was also with him on the show — and ran the missing miles so that he could say he did indeed run 26.2 miles.

The source said the fabrication came to NBC's attention after that apparent sub-four-hour finish time — an enviable pace for even an experienced runner — set off alarm bells in many corners, including among other runners in the marathon, and the blogosphere began buzzing about whether such a pace was possible for a big guy like Dane. (Kudos to TVBarn.com, which did a great job of covering the unfolding story with the tart headline, "The Biggest Loser" — or is that "Biggest Liar"? — fabricates account of contestant finishing marathon).

The traditional morning-after conference call with the week's eliminated contestant — in this case, Dane — was abruptly canceled.

NBC has rescheduled the conference call for Monday.

Another source close to "The Biggest Loser" said there was a feeling of sadness because the show "relies on its integrity" in a world where reality programming is often suspect, and this person hoped this didn't overshadow Dane's accomplishments. "Dane is such a nice guy," the source said.

It was unclear what, if anything, will happen to the field producer.

In the meantime, what do you think about this development? Does this hurt the show's credibility?

— Rene Lynch

Photo credit: NBC Universal

Comments

[Dani M]

I think that the show is still inspirational. No Dane shouldn't have participated in the false ending to the marathon, but the guy ran 17 straight miles, after being 400lbs that's an accompishment for sure!
He's apologized, he's sorry, and it should not discount the fact that he has worked hard to get to where he is.

[Emily]

I know Dane and his wife personally and I think the personal attacks on the two of them and their integrity is out of line. Like Dane has stated, his goal was to run 26.2 miles which he did in the span of a day and he is right to be proud of his accomplishment. Who cares if it took 3 hours or 10 hours? Dane cared more about finishing than his finishing time. He has no say over how the show is edited or explained. He did the right thing--he went back and finished the race.

[Tabatha B.]

I normally love the show BL...even with the annoying and oh so NOT fun to watch "product placement" skits and the fact that no average person has 8-10 hours to spend in the gym. To me, it's just fun to watch and see how much they transform. I agree with a previous person who said that a more inspirational ending for Dane would have been him finishing DESPITE not being able to make it in the 6 hours allotted. Lying and saying that he finished when he didn't is a definate insult to all of those who DID finish.

[chrissystrath]

The Biggest Losers, they proabably wouldn't have fessed up if they hadn't been caught!

[jason]

For anyone who wants to believe that he would have been able to finish the race post time limit, get real and understand how these races work. i've competed in a few distance events with time limits and have a lot of friends who have as well. the time limit is there for a reason. it's meant to stop the race, FOR EVERYONE! when that time expires they tell you you have to stop. there is no, well i'm trying to make this really inspiring moment for tv.

anyways, should he have taken the ride, no, of course not. and all you who are saying you've run a number of marathons over your life (by totaling all your training miles), congrats. but don't come down on dane, he still did it all in one day. also, did you run 26 miles in one day while you weighed as much as he does? just keep some perspective on what the guy has done.

[irenersimmons]

I my opinion this hurts NBD's rep not the Biggest Loser. Everyone involved has owned up to this and has aoligized except for the field producer. I want to know what happened to him. The issue is with him and with the problem with the lights. Dane did run the miles in the same day which is huge to his credit and he has lost the weight.

[Doesn't Care]

Really, I don't care. It's a TV show and it made for good TV. End of story.

And Delia, he didn't run the remaining 3 miles the next day according to the article above. It says he ran the remaining miles later the same day. So then, technically, yes. He ran and finished a marathon.

[Janice]

C'mon guys, give Dane a break. Even driving the "3" miles, how many of you actually get out and run that distance? VERY FEW and those "claiming" they run like that all the time (well it's your turn to come clean) Facts are Dane ran, Dane lost weight, Dane is a good person, just made a poor judgment call like many of us have at one time or another. As far as the shows credibility? It is what it is. Were all gonna watch it still, were all gonna pick the person who we like. Give the show a break. Let NBC handle the field producer the way they need to and just move on to the next big deal on TV. A few weeks ago it was wife swap and now you don't hear a word about it. So lets move on and continue watching as we all know we will. Dane good luck to you and your family. Kudos on your wonderful accomplishments. I know I couldn't run that distance.

[JennyLoser]

I am not saying this to brag, but that I understand what Dane did and how much hard work he put in. I lost 105 pounds on Jenny Craig in 32 weeks last year. I am a 49 year old father of two.

After losing the weight, I took over 7 weeks to train for my first half marathon which I did in 2 hours and 20 minutes last year. And I just did a marathon last month in 5 hours and 46 minutes ( it should have been 5:30, but I had a really long bathroom line at mile 7 that took me 15 minutes to get through and another 5 minute bathroom break at mile 12 ).

I was thrilled to have finished and happy to have lost all that weight. I am planning my next half marathon and maybe one more marathon to see if I can improve my performance for both by breaking the two hour mark for the half and the five hour mark for the full marathon.

It is sad that Dane could not find a marathon, like the one I did, that had the course open for 7.5 hours or even longer. That is what I looked for because, like him, I am not a runner.

It was stupid of the show to minimize his achievement and all of his hard work for the sake of a photo op. Better to have seen him end the run at mile 24 at six hours which is far better than most of the viewers of the show can do than to cheapen it by getting the photo op of him crossing the finish line.

[TDowdle]

I don't know how anyone could blame Dane for this, yes he agreed to get the ride, but he also was under the control of NBC and probably was told that he had to for the show. This is just like any other shows, your paid to do what they want, not what you want.

[Geanette Catalanotto]

While what was done was indeed wrong, one field manager don't spoil the whole bunch and bad decisions are made on a daily basis. Stop asking for apologies from people who knew nothing wrong had happed. Check your own reality and leave a wonderful program alone.

[AB]

I'll say it. Fire the field producer!!! Dane is way too nice of a guy, he
needs to learn to stand up for himself but I can see how a producer
could intimidate someone like that and make them feel bad for not being
able to finish. I thought Dane didn't look very happy at the end for having
just accomplished something huge. I agree, the producer should
have let him finish even after the even was over and put a 'Dane
will do it next time, look at how close he was this time' spin on it.

[Kelly Mellen]

I'm a fan of The Biggest Loser and I was sad to see Dane be eliminated. I am obviously very disappointed by this development. However, I do think it shows strong character on Dane's part that he went back and ran the miles on the day of the race. I assume that all "reality tv" is edited and doctored up to some degree. I just didn't think that Biggest Loser would stoop to this extent. Hopefully they have learned a lesson in truth and will not do something so foolish again.

[Gwen]

1. the field prodicer should be fired.
2. His supervisor or whoever he reported to should be fired
3. Both Dane and his cousin Blaine should be disqualified

This show has been an inspiration for many obese americans not because of the contestants' weight loss on the ranch, but because the finales show that the contestants continues to lose weight at home.

[Unsafe for gallbladder]

100 lbs in 8 weeks?? Wow, that's just wrong and totally unhealthy.

[Loyal Viewer]

I personally think it was just an honest mistake. The field producer should be fired though b/c what he did was wrong. But it was his dicision alone and not that of NBC or the shows producers so if there's anyone to blame, it's him. Dane is a great person and he had a lapse of judgement. He wanted to complete the race as much as the field producer wanted to show him completing it. Good for him for going back and completing the full 26 miles though, it shows a lot of courage and determination. I'm still a loyal viewer of the show and aspire to have the strength of the contestants!

[Elsie]

I don't believe Dane did this on his own. I believe the producer pushed him to it. Dane completed the marathon and I'm PROUD of him for doing so. He's a WINNER in my book.

[Cathi]

I have a personal trainer and it is NOT healthy to lose 100 pounds in 8 weeks. If you go back and look at past season contestants most of them have regained alot of weight back. NO everyday person can spend 5 to 6 hours a day in the gym.It is healthy to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week.But because of Biggest Loser people get upset if they only lose 2 pounds a week. They expect to lose the big numbers they do on Biggest loser. When they don't they get discoureged and quit.Dan should have said no to the ride and finished the race in the dark. NBC should apoligise on air to all the Biggest loser watchers.

[MILWAUKEE GIRL]

WOW.... VERY MISLEADING!!! I feel bad for Dane. I'm more than positive that he didnt have a choice in the matter. He must of been obligated to be filmed finishing the marathon even if it was a lie.. I mean the televison show has become an infomercial. One advertisement after another. on the last episode the contestants were bummed out about having to switch trainer, and here comes jillian with a bag of who knows what to pitch an advertisement. Can anyone say Akward! My sister has purchase everything The biggest Loser..from weight scale to food scale. I mean all that investment and she has not lost 100 pounds in 3 months like Dane was able to..hmmmm!!! Really people come on.... to lose all that weight the contestants must be working out 6 hours a day!!! But wait when I come to think of it Bob and Jillian are more like Boot camp trainer to me... How do these contestant endure six hours of boot camp training? Come on Nbc spill the beans. How are the contestants really losing all that weight in just 3 months? Their has to be diet pills, surgery or STARVING involved.

[Harry]

This show is a HUGE joke. Too bad as they have tried to set the record straight. But now I have to wonder what OTHER 'fixes" are in.