Congrats to Kelly Gneiting
Mr. Gneiting recently made the news cycle for setting a Guinness World Record. At 400 pounds, the ex-sumo wrestler is officially the heaviest man ever to finish the L.A. Marathon.
Kelly Gneiting, a 400-pound sumo wrestler, set a Guinness World Record as the heaviest man to complete a marathon, after finishing on Sunday in 9 hours 48 minutes 52 seconds.
Gneiting weighed 396.2 pounds after the marathon, smashing the past world record of 275 pounds and beating his 2008 marathon time of 11:52:11.
“I’d like to see the Kenyan improve his marathon time by two hours,” he joked.
Even when I ran longer distances than I do now, I was never ambitious enough to tackle a marathon (and nothing’s changed, lol). So kudos to Kelly Gneiting for seeing it through.
March 23, 2011
I heard this on the radio yesterday. You have to give him credit, but at his weight running that much must really put a beating on the knees and body in general. I have to believe he was one sore camper for the next few days.
March 23, 2011
Well, doing a marathon is tough even for those who are trained up to it… which is why you’ll never catch me doing one. IMHO, the benefits aren’t commensurate with the effort (and risk) involved.
But there’s a real reason I can get behind this, beyond the warm-and-fuzzy human interest aspect. The deal is, “exercise” – particularly cardiovascular exercise – carries a lot of unnecessary baggage. In our culture, you do it either because you’re a) a competitive athlete (amateur or professional); or b) trying to lose weight. Yet the evidence is mounting that exercise for its own sake is beneficial to health – regardless of any changes in body comp or size. But because of the cultural issues, a lot of overweight folks are reluctant to be seen working out in public, as this exposes them to judgement (especially if they don’t lose weight in the process).
So props to the guy for getting out there and seeing it through. While his goal might only have been to get into the Guinness Book of World Records, it was still a statement… and a positive one at that. He rose to the challenge vs. being too ashamed or embarrassed about his size to make the attempt.
March 24, 2011
I agree completely. He should take a lot of pride in showing the courage to run at that weight. I’m sure he was probably perceived as a joke to some. I’m glad he finished, no matter what the motive.