An Army sergeant will take on the Virgin Money London Marathon wearing a suit of armour – as a heatwave is forecast.
Paul Beddows, 33, is fundraising for the Armed Forces charity SSAFA and is trying to break the current Guinness World Record for the “fastest marathon in a suit of armour”.
The current record, of six hours 46 minutes 59 seconds, was set at the HC Andersen Marathon in Denmark in 2008.
“It seemed like a brilliant idea at the time, but now the realities are sinking in,” said Sgt Beddows, of Sawtry, Cambridgeshire. “I can’t just slip the armour on and head out by myself, I need help to get into it, and nearly every step I take in it hurts.
“But I have no doubt that I will finish the marathon – and am quietly confident that I’ll have a good chance of breaking the record too.”
Sgt Beddows, who has worked in the Intelligence Corps since 2004, has previously completed four long-distance Ironman triathlons.