The London Marathon always attracts the world’s attention. This Sunday, 28 April 2019 will see some of the world’s best runners and plenty of charitable souls heading to the capital to test their limits and raise money for a huge variety of great causes. The people who really capture the public’s imagination - as well as their admiration - are those who decide to run the gruelling 26.2 miles in fancy dress. The race is tough enough, and putting on a big, furry costume makes an already arduous task more difficult still.
Then there are those who not only decide to dress up in a costume for the London Marathon, but those who try to break records. This year, the following fancy dress record attempts are being made:
- Fastest marathon dressed as an animal.
- Fastest marathon dressed as a caveman (which sounds a little more comfortable!).
- Fastest marathon dressed as a dragon.
- Fastest marathon dressed as a fairytale character.
- Fastest marathon dressed as as a mythical creature (that presumably isn’t a dragon).
- For the run-up to Zombie Awareness Month in May, the fastest marathon dressed as a zombie.
A total of 84 Guinness World Record attempts are being made this year, and the above are not even some the craziest ones. A small selection of other world record attempts being made include:
- Fastest marathon dressed as a 3-dimensional animal (time to beat = 05:15:00) - This year’s world record attempt is being made by a man named Harry, who is dressing up as a 3d rhino for Save the Rhino. The suit will add an additional 10 kg of weight.
- Fastest marathon dressed as a toiletry item (time to beat = 04:54:00) - Friends Katie and Fiona from Stockton-on-Tees will be taking on this unique challenge. Katie will be racing as a tube of toothpaste, whilst Fiona (who conveniently works as a dentist) will be dressed as a tooth. The money raised will be donated to Derian House, a children’s hospice that offers respite and palliative care to children, young people and families.
- Fastest marathon in a 6-person costume (time to beat = 06:20:49) - Charlie, Cey, Rob, Dave, Helen and Andy, who all work within the Metropolitan Police Service, will be dressed as The Thunderbirds. They will be raising money for CLIC Sargent and Tanyel’s Smile in honour of Cey’s late daughter, Tanyel, who very sadly passed away from cancer in 2016 aged 20.
We here at Escapades hope that all the above fun runners manage to achieve their goals. Of course, even if they don’t break any records, they will have at least completed the challenge and raised plenty of money for many good causes. We hope their endeavours inspire others to take up similar challenges and make their mark in the history books.