Virginia man runs half-marathon in full football equipment

On Nov. 12, a Virginia man completed the Richmond Half Marathon in an unconventional manner. Rusty Burrell, 37, of Henrico, Va., ran the entire half-marathon dressed head to toe in the University of Richmond football equipment, and even carried a football.

Burrell rushed for a whopping 23,075 yards (21.1 kilometres) and immediately spiked the football when he crossed the finish line in 2:20:54.

This wasn’t Burrell’s first time running a race dressed in a sports uniform. Earlier this year, he ran a 10K dressed as a Washington Nationals baseball player, and then did a 10-miler in Philadelphia dressed as 76ers great Allen Iverson, dribbling a basketball for the entire 10 miles.

Burrell is a former University of Richmond student-athlete who competed in the 400m hurdles and high jump for their track and field program. The idea for this challenge came to him in the summer, for no particular reason. Then he contacted the school’s athletic department to see if it was possible to get the gear.

According to the Richmond Times, the U of R athletic department made a hard pitch for Burrell to run the half-marathon dressed as the school’s mascot, a gray spider named “Webstur”.

“The helmet was the worst,” says Burrell. “My head ached, and the heat inside the helmet was unbearable.” 

Burrell claims he grabbed water at every hydration station to help cool him down from the heat. ‘It sucked, but I finished,” he laughs.

We aren’t sure how getting touchdowns during a half-marathon works. Would they be worth 21 points?

posted Saturday November 19th
by Running Magazine