Running News Daily

Some of running’s weirdest world records

On Feb. 5, Edmonton’s David Eliuk broke the Guinness World Record for most T-shirts worn while running a half-marathon. Racing the Hypothermic Half Marathon in Edmonton, Eliuk donned a whopping 120 t-shirts, breaking the previous record of 111,  and crossed the finish line in two hours and 45 minutes. This record is odd, but it’s far from the only unorthodox running record we’ve seen over the years. There are so many strange feats out there; here are the top five weird–but real–running records. 

Anything joggling 

Joggling (juggling while jogging) is surprisingly popular in the running community, and there are world records from the 100m up. Unlike some Guinness World Record running feats, joggling results tend to be extremely quick, with the record breakers running times that many non-juggling runners wouldn’t even be able to hit. Take P.E.I.’s Michael Bergeron, a runner who owns joggling world records in the 5K (16:50), 10K (34:47) and half-marathon (1:17:09)–or Port Hope, Ont.’s Michal Kapral, who still holds the joggling world record in the marathon (2:50:12), which he set at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2007. 

American David Rush is another joggling world record holder, although he added yet another twist to the feat (as if running while juggling wasn’t already tough enough). In 2021, Rush broke the world record for the fastest 100m while juggling blindfolded, covering the distance in 16.29 seconds. 

10K carrying 100 lbs

American Erin Grindstaff owns what sounds like an extremely arduous record: fastest 10K while carrying 100 lbs. Grindstaff ran Las Vegas 10K with a backpack weighing 100 lbs, and she crossed the finish line in 1:26:49. If this sounds more like a military training method than a running event, it’s because that’s how Grindstaff got the idea. As she told the Guinness World Records team, she is an American Air Force veteran, and she had plenty of experience “rucking,” which is walking, hiking or running with a weighted backpack.

“I wanted to set this Guinness World Records title to show normal, everyday people that you do not have to be an elite or full-time athlete to do something physically extraordinary,” Grindstaff said. “With hard work, a solid plan, and true unwavering commitment, anything is possible.”

Backwards mile

In 2020, a Kansas man named Aaron Yoder took to the quiet country roads of his hometown and ran a 5:30 mile… while running backwards. That’s right, Yoder ran a backwards mile faster than most people can run going straight ahead. That works out to an average pace of 3:25 per kilometre, and it beat the previous world record of 5:54, which not-so-coincidentally also belongs to Yoder. 

Golf running

In 2021, Swiss athlete Jürg Randegger played a ridiculous 252 holes of golf in 12 hours, breaking the world record for the most holes in a 12-hour period. He covered 93K in this mind-boggling world record, carrying just a 7-iron for the entire day. He took a total of 1,348 strokes and managed to hit five birdies (one under par). Not bad for a sport in which calmness, patience and taking one’s time are of the utmost importance.