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London Marathon 2016 Guinness World Record attempts
Fastest marathon dressed as a 3-D dinosaur
A bus fleet engineer from Crawley in West Sussex, Ian Bates has created arguably the finest costume ever to grace the circuit. The 3D dinosaur suit weighs 20kg and has taken 18 months to create – spectators will be running for the hills as he roars towards the finish line.
Charity: St Catherine’s Hospice
Fastest marathon carrying a household appliance
30-year-old Phillip Box has already run over 70 marathons and ultra-marathons. After completing a personal goal of running 100 miles in under 24 hours last year, he decided strapping a tumble dryer to his back was the only way to keep pushing himself. Once the Virgin Money London Marathon is behind him, Phillip plans to conquer Snowdon with his affectionately named ‘Tumble’, who weighs in at 24kg.
Charity: Polycystic Kidney Disease research
Fastest marathon in a four-person costume
Fire fighters Lee Small, James Lafferty, Michael Palmer and Stevie Clifford-Tucker will be displaying their superior coordination skills in their four-person fire engine, complete with working sirens.
Charity: The boys are celebrating the 150th birthday of the London Fire Brigade and raising money for the Fire Fighters’ Charity.
Fastest marathon in a full body animal costume (female)
Gill Punt, a 45-year-old Development Officer at Chigwell School in Essex, has raised a whopping £250,000 for Cancer Research UK following the death of her father. She will running in a polar bear costume – the official mascot of Cancer Research UK.
Charity: Cancer Research UK
Fastest marathon dressed as a book character (female)
44-year-old mother of three Lisa Wilkinson from Reading, is running her 25th marathon this year. To celebrate her 15th time round the London circuit she is running for a place in the Guinness World Records book as Snow White.
Charity: Action on Hearing Loss
Record to beat: 03:39:49
Fastest marathon dressed as a chef
This year will be Adrian Penfold’s second marathon and first attempt to break a Guinness World Record wearing a chef costume. His costume is inspired by his young son Coby who believes his dad is the world’s best chef! 'I explained that there was no way unfortunately, that I could be the world’s best chef, but that I may just be able to be the world’s fastest one!' said Penfold.
Charity: The Family Holiday Association
Fastest marathon in a nurse's uniform (male)
Alistair Smith has ran multiple marathons in the past but for this year’s London Marathon he wanted to add a twist to the proceedings. He hopes to run 2.45 or quicker in order to achieve the Guinness World Record of fastest marathon in a nurse's uniform. The 39-year-old is a client service director for an investment management firm and a father of two.
Charity: MS-UK
Fastest marathon as a fast food item (male)
His 29th marathon, Andy Hind hopes to achieve the Guinness World Records title of fastest marathon as a fast food item. He has run in fancy dress before and attempted other records, but this year will be his first official attempt at setting a new Guinness World Record. Andy is a business analyst and a father of two.
Charity: Mind
Fastest marathon in a two person costume
Robert Philip Johnson and his team of two hope to wow the crowd at this year’s London Marathon in a canoe costume. This unique idea requires two people to run together and pretend to 'battle' while the third is 'minding' the waves of running traffic. Robert ran the last 15 London Marathons and holds the record for 'fastest marathon dressed as a three-dimensional bird'. He is a chartered engineer and father of three.
Fastest marathon dressed in riot gear
Chris Collier has ran four London Marathons in the past but this year’s marathon will be his first in riot gear. He ran in this costume at the 2015 Great North Run and decided to try again in a full marathon to attempt to hold the Guinness World Records title for Fastest marathon dressed in riot gear. Chris is the Captain of a Parachute Regiment and a die- hard Sunderland supporter. He currently resides in Richmond, North Yorkshire with his wife and three children.
Charity: Coeliac-UK
Charity Chosen: Coeliac-UK
Fastest marathon in a two-person costume
Last year Chris Coulson missed the the record for the fastest marathon dressed as a human organ by six minutes. He's back for another go, this time in a two-person costume. Chris is a neck and throat surgeon.
Charity: Get Ahead
Fastest marathon carrying a 100lb backpack
Chris Shirley has been vigorously preparing for this year’s London Marathon in the hope of becoming the new Guinness World Records title holder for fastest marathon carrying a 100lb backpack. He hopes to raise awareness of the great work they do for injured service people while fulfilling his life-long dream of becoming a world record holder.
Charity: Walking with the Wounded
Fastest marathon in a ghillie suit (female)
Canadian Corin Alan Leach will be running in this year’s London Marathon in hopes of becoming Guinness World Records new title holder for fastest marathon dressed in a ghillie suit. Though this will be her first official road marathon, she is no rookie to endurance training. In the past Corin has completed two ultra-marathons, Dig Deep Intro Ultra and High Peak.
Charity: New Life Medical and Education Trust
Fastest marathon three-legged (male)
Damian Thacker and Luke Symonds from Hathersage, Peak District and Sheffield, South Yorkshire are friends, fathers and physiotherapists running in this year’s London Marathon with their feet tied together in an attempt to run the fastest three-legged marathon. Damian and Luke are running for Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity.
Charity: Sheffield Children’s Hospital
Fastest marathon dressed in chain mail
David is running for the London Air Ambulance as part of the London Freemasons pledge to raise £2 million towards the cost of a second air ambulance. He is currently the Operations Manager at Bacon’s College School, managing the Colleges Community programme.
Charity: London Air Ambulance
Fastest marathon dressed as a plant
David Ralph will be running his seventh marathon this year and hopes to achieve the Guinness World Records title of fastest marathon dressed as a plant in 3 hours and 30 minutes. He is running in support of Team Ella, an organisation that raises funds for various charities relating to still births. His sunflower plant costume is the logo used for Team Ella.
Charity: Team Ella
Fastest marathon in a firefighter’s uniform (female)
Erin Fairhead will be running in uniform in hopes of becoming the new Guinness World Records holder for fastest marathon dressed as a fire fighter. She is a retained firefighter, natural running coach and dog walker.
Charity: The Fire Fighters Charity
Fastest marathon dressed as a film character
Faye Morse AKA Tinkberbell is not new to the marathon scene or the Guinness World Record family. The mother of two will be celebrating her ninth marathon and fourth London Marathon by attempting to set the Guinness World Record of Fastest Marathon dressed as a film character. Faye came second for fastest marathon dressed in a nurse’s uniform in 2013.
Charity: ChildLine
Fastest marathon by a mascot
This year’s London Marathon will be Francis Gilroy’s 45th marathon. He will be running in the same Harvey the Hospice mascot costume he wore two years ago. After losing to Harry the Hornet last year, he hopes to reclaim his title. A father of four, Francis is a self-employed physiotherapist. He will be running in support of the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice charity in honour of his late wife.
Charity: Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice
Fastest marathon dressed as a crustacean
Greg Trevelyan hopes to run this year’s London Marathon in 3 hours and 15 minutes to become the new Guinness World Records title holder for fastest marathon dressed as a crustacean. The father of two will also be celebrating his eighth marathon and fourth London Marathon. Greg is in the pharmaceutical industry.
Charity: Miscarriage Association
Rhalou is a senior digital editor specialising in health and wellness with over eighteen years’ online and print publishing experience. Rhalou has worked at various health platforms including Women’s Health, Men’s Health, Runner’s World, Netdoctor, Women’s Running, Men’s Running, The Running Bug and Women’s Fitness. Covering everything from sexual health to fitness, parenting, marathon running and self-care, Rhalou loves creating fun and accessible lifestyle content and feels strongly about demystifying complex medical jargon and empowering people to better understand their health. Previously, Rhalou was a freelance social media specialist for several major sporting events and race listings including The London Marathon, Breca Swimrun, Findarace, The Westminster Mile and Prudential Ride 100. She has also been a reporter on a local newspaper in remote Scotland, penning breaking news stories about killer otters, cats stuck up trees and the Scottish hill racing scene. Over the years, Rhalou has been lucky enough to run 15 marathons and even a few ultra-marathons. She is still a passionate runner, but these days she can mostly be found at her local parkrun or chasing after her young son.
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