Paul is hoping to propel himself to greatness with a new spin on the London Marathon...
Our Team Bone supporters are a wonderfully creative lot, but we think this might be one of the wackiest fundraising ideas yet.... Long-time supporter Paul is training to beat the Guinness World Record for fastest male marathon runner in a 3D aircraft/helicopter costume! Intrigued? We caught up with him to hear more.
How many years have you been running Paul?
4 years now. I've taken on 5 marathons and 10 half marathons! The Snowdonian Marathon was probably my toughest run to date.
What inspired you take on this challenge for us?
My first ever run was the Royal Parks Half for the Bone Cancer Research Trust; this was in support of friends Andy and Sue Collard, who had lost their daughter Mary to bone cancer. I knew I wanted to do my bit. I absolutely loved the whole experience and have gone on to run marathons, half marathons and a Tough Mudder for the charity.
When I got the ballot place for this year's London Marathon I knew had to run for the Bone Cancer Research Trust again, but this time I wanted to something more; having dressed up for the last 2 marathons I had to do it again! I had met the World Record holder of the fastest phone box marathon at the Bath Half, and the seed was planted!
After a little more research I decided to try and set a record myself; what better way to try and raise the profile of the charity, and here I am now thinking "am I really going to do this?!"
How did you put your costume together and how long did it take?
It took several attempts to get to where we are now, mainly trying to meet all the rules of the Guinness World Record attempt. The current outfit is made with a frame of plastic waste pipe, covered with papier mache, and then a harness that is attached to a metal frame which is bolted to the plastic frame. It has taken about 3 months to get where I am now, but I keep improving as I go.
How is training going?
Not too bad. I can't run in costume much at the minute due to the weather, but I do run in the harness with weights on the back of it to simulate the load I will be carrying on the day.
So are you ready for take-off?
The next big step is to do the Silverstone Half Marathon in costume to get the final sign off from all parties, and then it's all systems go for London!
Visit Paul's Facebook page to keep up to date on his progress.
