When Kyle comes home one day and wants to quit basketball, Cheryl is ready to let him. But Jim will have none of that. Unfortunately, she also knows that Jim and Andy have been “running”, so she suggests that to show Kyle how they should stick with something, Jim should run in a 10K. Dana thinks it is a grand idea.
Since the running that Jim and Andy have been doing generally consists of a few minutes of warm-ups followed by a lengthy drive to the donut shop, the idea of running in a 10K doesn’t appeal much to Jim. So he and Andy quickly launch a scheme where he can run in the race and still manage to survive.
The course runs through town in a sort of loop, so by stopping into a nail salon (where Andy typically gets a mani-pedi), Jim can sit down, take a break, then come out the other side and finish things off. The problem comes when Jim sits down in a massage chair. Jim falls asleep and when he wakes up, he doesn’t know how long he’s been out. His toenails are also painted red, but that’s a minor issue.
He grabs his shoes and runs out the back door and onto the course. He stumbles for a few minutes and sees no one, figuring that he’s been out for hours. Only as he rounds the last corner does he realize that he isn’t the last in the race – he’s first. He actually wins. Whoops. That isn’t quite what he intended. Everyone knows he cheated (because he won).
At night he has nightmares about being caught – mostly brought on by Cheryl whispering in his ear – so he gets up and runs the race. That way he can face Kyle and not be labeled a cheater in front of his son. To his credit, he finishes – though it certainly isn’t the fastest time ever – and then he takes the first-place medal and gives it to the man who should have won. Who said Jim isn’t a stand-up guy?
