World record holder.

On the left, Ben Cope, world record holder for the fastest half marathon my a man dressed as an animal.

On the right, me wearing as many clothes as I could get hold of to keep warm!

This attempt wasn't as pie in the sky as it first appears. Ben, it would seem, has already set an unofficial record by running in the costume before.

Today he was doing it under Guinness World Record (GWR) Attempt rules.

I didn't ask why Ben was running dressed as a lion. I would only have got the sort of answer that I would give: why not....

To set the record the outfit had to be approved by GWR. The outfit could be anything of the athlete's choosing so long as GWR approved.
The course had to be certified as being accurately measured.
The athlete had to run the entire route, which had to be independently verified.
The time had to be accurately recorded and independently verified.
Two independent witness statements were required.
Any other evidence to support he record claim such as photographs would also help.

I can therefore confirm that I have nothing to gain from the outcome of the attempt. I have taken photographs of the athlete on the route and I can confirm he has completed the full measured route.
The course is accurate as certified by myself on 21/12/13 in my capacity as measurement secretary for the North of England. I have witnessed the finish time on my own stopwatch and verified this with the official timekeeper.

Ladies and gentlemen: with a time of 1 hour 24 minutes and 15 seconds I present to you Ben Copes, world record holder for the fastest half marathon run by a man in an animal costume.

This is the second world record I have verified: the previous was in 2012 when I verified the fastest marathon run in a straitjacket.

I wonder what the world record is for the number of world records independently verified by the same person......