‘Biggest Loser’: America, it’s up to you

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Let’s just put this one in the history books.

This season of the ‘Biggest Loser’ has been marked by so many superlatives that it’s hard to keep track: the youngest contestant ever, the biggest female contestant ever, the oldest man and woman to ever make it this far, record-breaking weight loss, etc.

And tonight, we added two more. The most audacious challenge yet in the show’s history -- the contestants had to run a marathon with less than a month’s training. And it all added up to what was arguably the single best ‘Biggest Loser’ episode ever.

If that’s not enough, it sets the stage for a tension-filled finale next week when it will be father vs. son for the third spot in the race for $250,000 and the title of ‘The Biggest Loser.’

Correct me if I am wrong, but the final episode before the weigh-in had everything. Everything!

We had a stunning footage looking back at just how much weight the contestants have lost -- always good stuff. Then, we had reunions as the contestants went home for 30 days, and were immediately left to grapple with the same issues that led to their weight gain in the first place.

Take Mike, who said it was not unusual for him to stop at three different fast food restaurants on his way home at night when he was overweight. He noted that one of those restaurants was right across the street from the gym where he is now spending his days working out in advance of next week’s finale. ‘The thing I’m afraid of most is that I’m going to fall back on my old habits,’ he said.

Helen broke down while sifting through her closets, and coming across a pair of pants so voluminous that she was convinced they had to belong to someone else. ‘I just can’t believe that I thought this was okay...I was always hiding my life. Hiding myself.’ (It was at that very moment that I completely forgave Helen for sending her daughter home earlier in the season. She needed to do this for herself -- and all the other 48-year-olds out there.)

Then came the challenge. A few weeks ago, contestants had to run a half-marathon. This time, they’d have to run the full 26.2 miles. ‘A marathon,’ Ron remarked dryly. ‘I don’t think I’ve walked 26 miles in a year.’

THEN, we had surprise visits from Bob and Jillian, and watched them work their magic, horse whisperers with the ability to calm their thoroughbreds down before the big race. Jillian told a struggling Mike that he was identifying too much with his overweight younger brother, Max, and trying too hard to ‘fix’ him. ‘The only way for this to go away is not by Max getting thin, but when you allow yourself to feel the depth of all this pain,’ she told him.

We also had approved drinking -- that is, alcoholic beverages not only consumed with Jillian’s approval, but consumed with Jillian herself! (When does that happen on ‘The Biggest Loser?’ The last time Jillian’s contestants drank alcohol she nearly broke their necks.) But Jillian’s point was all about achieving balance.

Maybe it was just me, but Max seemed to actually transform as he was coaxed into working out with Bob -- he seemed to glow when he was done, and not only just because the workout made him puke. (I repeat my earlier request: ‘Biggest Loser’ producers, please find room on the show for Max.)

‘[Bob] has some quality that makes you not want to let him down,’ Max said. ‘He just got my mind in the right place about what to eat,’ he added.

All that would have made for a stellar installment. But it was actually just the appetizer. The entree was a marathon. A marathon! How can you train for a marathon with less than a month to go? As Jillian said, ‘You just run. And run. And run.’

This was labeled a challenge, but everyone who crossed the finish line was victorious, and would earn $10,000 to go to a charity of their choice.

Tara finished in a stunning 4:56:24. Helen, in 5:49:09. There was brilliant interspersing of earlier footage of the contestants as they were just starting their journeys. Helen prophetically said she wanted to lose weight and gain an athletic outlook on life: ‘I want to be that older, sophisticated lady that runs the marathon....’ After she crossed the finish line, she said, ‘After running this...I’m never going to doubt myself [again].’

Past winners, including Bernie, Michelle, Heba and Ali surprised the contestants along the course to help them to the finish line. Mike, who hurt his hip, walked the rugged route that took them up over the hills above Malibu and ended on the beach in nearly nine hours.

I don’t think anyone thought Ron would do it. Sure, he would start. But finish? No way. Certainly not after he had to be treated for elevated blood sugar, a condition that left him shaking and shivering.

But he kept going. And going. And going. And 13 hours, 16 and 19 seconds after he set out, Ron used his walking stick to THWACK! the finisher’s tape as he cross the finish line, victorious, and fell into his sons’ arms.

Cue up the earlier footage of an obese Ron speaking to his future self: ‘I’m pretty proud of you, I haven’t said that in a long time.’

All this, and we still had a weigh-in to go.

Ron and Mike each lost 10 pounds. It was not enough to keep them above the yellow line. Helen lost seven more pounds, and said it was a message for all the 40-somethings out there watching at home: ‘Look at what I’ve done, what I accomplished here....I did it, and you know what, they can do it to.’ Tara, who never fell below the yellow line this entire season, also lost 10 pounds and secured her spot in the finale alongside Helen.

Now, it’s up to America to vote by phone to decide whether it will be Ron or Mike who will compete in the third and final spot.

Will Ron’s scheming ways during the course of the season backfire, with voters refusing to heed his request to give the berth to his son? (Remember Heba?) Or will they see it for what it is: A father trying to make amends to his son for not doing more to protect his health. ‘My son, Michael, has worked very hard, and he deserves this opportunity...’ Ron said.

For his part, Mike asked for nothing. He continues to bloom into a fine young man. ‘I set out to change my life, I have done that....It’s just been a privilege be here,’ he said. ‘If you want to put me in the finale, that’s amazing. If you want to put my dad in the finale, that’s great too. I love him. So America, thank you very much for your support, and I’ll see you at the finale.’

What do you predict?

--Rene Lynch