Running News Daily

Father of quintuplets sets a unique stroller Guinness World Record

On March 20, a father of quintuplets set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest half-marathon while pushing five children in a stroller. Chad Kempel of San Lorenzo, Calif., who is dad to seven kids, including a set of quintuplets: Gabriella, Grayson, Lincoln, Noelle and Preston Kempel, set a unique record at the Oakland Marathon.

According to Guinness, Kempel’s quintuplet stroller record was the first of its kind. Guinness gave him a cutoff of two hours and 30 minutes to complete the half marathon, which he had no problem with, finishing the 21.1-kilometre race in two hours and 19 minutes (11 minutes under the cutoff time).

During the race, Kempel recalls his children saying, “faster, faster dad, faster,” about 20 or more times. The trick with stroller running is that you’re forced to change the mechanics of your running as you are pushing the stroller. Physically, it’s a lot more work than regular running, as you’re multitasking, keeping an eye on the kids while trying to focus on your cadence and pace.

The Oakland Half Marathon course is not flat; runners are challenged by several hills around halfway. Kempel said to the local news that the stroller felt like it was going to roll back on him on each hill, exhausting all of his energy.

Kempel also holds the Guinness World Record for running a marathon while pushing five children in a stroller. He achieved this record at the Modesto Marathon in 2019 when his set of quintuplets were still babies.

The father of seven admits that he fell in love with running as his escape and anti-depressant. Kempel holds a personal best time of 1:44:41 for the half without a stroller and hopes to share his love for running with his kids as they grow.