Man breaks knitting record while running London Marathon
· Yahoo Sports
The last thing anyone competing in the London Marathon wants is to get a stitch as soon as they start running.
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But for Simon Fannon, from Ashford, the aim was to get as many stitches as possible when he took part in the iconic event on Sunday.
And the 43-year-old achieved just that, successfully breaking the current world record for knitting the longest scarf while competing in the 26.2-mile race.
Speaking at the finish line, the former Royal Marine said he wanted to do something "bonkers" to raise money for the charities close to his heart.
Fannon, who goes by the name Veteran Knitter on social media, needed to create a scarf of more than 3.7m (12.1ft) to break the current record, but ended up with a winning woollen garment measuring 5.59m (18.3ft)
He also completed the course in under the specified six hours, finishing in five hours, 48 minutes and eight seconds - efforts which saw him awarded with a certificate from Guinness World Records.
"I love knitting and wondered to my wife if there might be some sort of related world record I could have a go at," said Fannon.
"So she looked online and saw there was one for running a marathon and simultaneously knitting a scarf.
"It struck me as a bonkers way to get seen and shed light on the good causes I support," added Fannon, who ran on behalf of the Huntington's Disease Association and Reorg, which works with veterans, military and emergency services personnel impacted by the physical and psychological stress of their jobs.
Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe was another who broke a marathon record [Getty Images]"I had a ball of yarn in my belt bag and cast on my first stitch as soon as I crossed the starting line," he said.
"I had no idea how well the scarf was progressing but tried to change the colour of the wool around each new metre in length, so by the time I got about four colours going I realised I must be on target," Fannon added.
Meanwhile, Sabastian Sawe was another who made marathon history on the weekend, by becoming the first athlete to run a sub-two-hour time.
The 31-year-old Kenyan crossed the line to win in one hour 59 minutes 30 seconds, more than one minute faster than the late Kelvin Kiptum's previous record of 2:00:35, set in 2023.
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