Hong Kong runner’s marathon feat of endurance earns him spot in Guinness World Records book
- Mayank Vaid sets world record for fastest aggregate time to complete 10 marathon distances in 10 days on a treadmill
- Making the book is a childhood dream, as kids look up to him like a comic book hero
Mayank Vaid has never been known to do anything by halves, from swimming around Hong Kong twice to completing a 360km triathlon, the tougher the challenge, the more likely Vaid is to accept it.
The Hong Kong resident completed the 262-mile (421.6km) distance in 31 hours, 21 minutes and 58 seconds, smashing the previous best time of 38 hours 30 minutes.
Vaid undertook the challenge at Hong Kong Football Club, and after he finished his last marathon on Sunday word quickly spread about his achievement.
“The club has lots of kids. The Guinness book of records, everyone reads it and kids look up to you and ask ‘are you the guy?’,” Vaid said. “I’m like a comic book character, I’m going to be in the book.
“For me personally, as a kid I grew up reading the book, the longest nails, the tallest man, the longest hair. I never focused on the athletic side but now I think it’s special. For my kids, now they are so proud to say dad is going to be in the book, I think that’s very cool.”
The previous record pace averaged about 3hr 50 mins per marathon. Vaid’s slowest marathon, his first, was 3:18:00, he saved his fastest time for the last run, coming in under three hours at 2:59:43.