By Carten Cordell
The contentious 2014 midterm elections may start today, but it’s anyone’s guess when they will actually end.
Some races are predicted to be so close that it may be days, instead of hours, before they are decided.
With veritable miles to go before he sleeps, it leaves Fox Business Network’s Rich Edson with the herculean task of tracking it all for 17-straight hours–a task he is well suited for.
Luckily, it’s an action that Edson is used to. As a marathoner, one of those fated-souls that commit themselves to 26-mile races, Edson is used to feats of endurance, both mental and physical.
“Luckily, television has commercial breaks,” he said. “Occasionally I’ll walk through a water stop at mile 23 or so, but that’s hardly a rest.”
A former Arlington resident, Edson began running in college, but caught the marathon bug from a fellow Fox colleague, taking on D.C.’s Rock N Roll USA half-marathon as his first race. Since then, Edson said he’s run the gamut, with “three marathons and more than a dozen half marathons, 10 milers, 10Ks and 5Ks” under his belt.
“I love running. Almost everything I do benefits from it,” he said. “Any endurance-heavy activity seems easier having pulled myself through the final 6 of 26.2 miles.”
Election coverage can be deemed “endurance-heavy”, as the balance of the U.S. Senate, key House races and gubernatorial races lay in the balance. With states like Virginia split on ideological fault lines, there will be a wealth of analysis Edson has to deliver as the votes trickle in.
“We may not know which party controls the Senate until January,” he said. “Georgia’s Senate race may end in a runoff that’s not scheduled until early next year. Louisiana’s Senate campaign could go to a December vote.
“Virginia is purple and has skewed Democrat of late, especially in statewide elections. Still, it has a robust conservative population, President Obama’s approval ratings are upside down nationwide and midterm turnout of late has favored Republicans.”
Well, the average channel-surfer can tap-out whenever ballot malaise may strike, Edson will be leading Fox Business Network’s coverage from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. tonight.
Much like Pheidippides, the fabled soldier who ran 26 miles to bring news of the battle of Marathon in 490 B.C., Edson will be bringing news to the masses tonight.
When asked if, at the end of his shift, he would collapse in a heap like Pheidippides, Edson said: “If they keep us on air straight through a January runoff in Georgia – yes.”
