via Runner in KC Marathon knits his way into record book – KansasCity.com.
I heard about this strange but true story on the morning radio. A guy has run a complete 42.2km marathon, while knitting a 12 foot scarf. When I came home I just had to see if there was an accompanying photo that showed whether the guy looks completely crazy or not.
I gotta say, he appears quite normal.
What possesses someone to add such complexity to an already grueling event?
Did he do it in the hope that at a dinner party he can painfully trump any other running story? Others may be proud to report they’ve completed a half marathon, at which point this fella would jump in that he ran a full marathon while, all the way, knitting a world record scarf!
Perhaps I’m a little bitter about these novelty runners. I remember in 2007 in my first half marathon feeling quite demoralised as I couldn’t keep up with the guy in a clown wig, and ballerina tutu skirt.
It made me now wonder what other crazy marathon records are out there.
A couple of years ago at the Dubai marathon, we got talking to a guy juggling a football the entire 10km event. It was an awkward conversation, cause I didn’t want to be responsible for putting him off. He allegedly had world records for football juggling.
That now seems less impressive, compared to the world record for the Fastest Backwards Juggling Marathon I just spotted:
The knitter and the backwards juggler’s marathon times are just over the 5 hour mark, which isn’t terribly quick. Other novelty records though are embarrassingly fast.
I’ve compiled a list of my favourites, and included my own personal best marathon time – free from any intended novelty.
- David Stone, 2:42.15, dressed as Pirate Captain Jack Sparrow
- Ian Sharman, 2:42.52, dressed as Elvis
- Camille Herron, 2:48.51, dressed as a superhero (Spiderwoman)
- Paul Simons, 2:55.50, dressed as Santa Claus
- Joe Elliot, 2:58.03, dressed in full business suit
- Ryan Brinkworth, 3:22.23, normal as I can be
- David Ross, 3:25, dressed in a wet suit
- Mike Ellicock, 3:25.21, carrying a 40lb (18kg) pack
- Bruce Moore, 3:31, dressed in full gorilla suit
- Xu Zhenjun, 3:43.39, running backwards
- Dale Lyons, 3:47, carrying an egg on a spoon
- Paul Simons, 3:49.21, dressed in full military uniform
- Chris Baron, 4:28.48, while skipping
- Darren Weissman, 4:39.12, dribbling two basketballs
Sourced, http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/, 24 October 2013.
Shall we run it three-legged?
Three legs sounds more logical than two.
🙂