TCS London Marathon 2022 saw 34 record attempts in total with 18 official titles broken including the fastest man in pjs, David Jones (2:47:15) and Kellie Clark (female) who run the fastest marathon dressed as a candy confectionery item (4:24:06).

In this blog we will cover why people may want to break a world and what to think about when training to break a Marathon World record.

Why Break a World Record at London Marathon?

If we are being honest with ourselves, most of us will not run the London Marathon the fastest anyone has been able to run before. However, we could be a world recorder holder for the fastest runner to run London Marathon dressed as witch like Sarah Dudgeon (3:11:52). And being number in something does sound very appealing!

Breaking a world record in fancy dress also raises awareness and money for a charity who you are supporting! For example, a group of six friends broke the world record for the fastest marathon in a six person costume, whilst also raising awareness and funds for Brain Research UK. This year London Marathon participants raised over £37 million for good causes!

It is a real challenge, and one that if you stop training for a few weeks on the lead up the event, may cost you a world record. This helps with staying motivated and disciplined with your training.

For a real life experience, you can watch vlogger Guru Runs break the world record for the fastest marathon as a hospital patient whilst also raising awareness and funds for Dementia UK (3:19:23).

At the London Marathon, there is an adjudicator at the finish line to tell you whether you have been successful in achieving the record you are attempting. You would normally need to pay for this but this verification service is free at the London Marathon.

Another reason to break a world record at London is if the record you are wishing does not yet exist, you are welcome to suggest a new one. Usually, you would need to pay an added fee to apply for a new record title but this is free at the London Marathon.

Please be aware that in order to apply for a record, you must have secured a place at your chosen marathon. Places are not available via Guinness World Records.

Would I need to train differently to break a world record?

In addition to marathon training, you would need additional time to think about your costume and tweak your training sessions depending on the record you are attempting to break.

For example, if you want the be the fastest female/male ever, this will have a lot to do with all things performance (mindset, training, nutrition, coaching, etc.). But if you want to be the quickest whilst dressed as a mammal, superhero, rhino, knight or shoe (some may say a harder challenge), then speed training be will important as well as weight training, running in your costume, modifying your costume, weather forecast, fuelling strategies throughout the marathon.

• FUELLING STRATEGY

Whilst running a marathon in fancy dress, you need to make sure you are able to fuel yourself for the race. Some runners find camelbacks are much easier than using the hydration stations provided due to their outfit.

Many costumes can get very hot and therefore make the runners sweat even more than usual. Therefore be mindful and take on more liquids.

• Weather on the Day

The weather on the day can often make or break your costume choice. Will you be too hot to run in the costume and therefore need to stop/ slow down? On the other hand, it was be a very cold day and your running gear will not be warm enough for you. Think about how a strong gust of wind or downpour of rain may affect your costume too as that is a possibility.

Try out different under-layers, shorts, leggings, hats, gloves to make sure you will be comfortable enough to reach the finish line.

• Weight training

Some costume ideas can be very heavy. If you train with no extra weight then marathon day is doing to feel a lot different to what you have been spending the last six months training for.

Make sure you do lots of long runs with a weighted vest and a few with you final costume on too just to make sure there are no unpleasant surprises come race day.

• Costume Preparations, Modifications and Trial runs

As mentioned above, it is really important to run in your costume for a few of your long runs leading up to race day. Just so you know what to expect and to check if you can make any alternations to make your outfit be slightly easier to run in.

Paul Addicott, Pace with Paul, shares some great insight and advice after running the Big Half and the TCS London Marathon in the Marathon shoe for Cancer Research UK whilst also attempting to break the world record. And check out our recent blog for more tips on running in fancy dress.

If you are training to break a record at the TCS London Marathon 2023 or any other running event, Coopah can provide you with a training plan specific to you, your running goal, and current running ability.Chat to us via (run@coopah.com) if you have any questions regarding training towards your running goal or speak to your Coach via the Coopah App!

Make sure to download and sign up to Coopah to start working towards breaking your record!

Best of luck!!