The last thing anyone running the London Marathon wants is to get stitches as soon as they start running.
But for Simon Fannon, from Ashford, the aim is to get as many stitches as possible when he competes in the iconic event on Sunday.
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The 43-year-old achieved this goal, successfully breaking the current world record for the longest scarf knitted during the 26.2-mile race.
Speaking at the finish line, the former Royal Marine said he wanted to do something “crazy” to raise money for charities close to his heart.
Fannon, who goes by the nickname Veteran Knitter on social media, needed to make a scarf more than 3.7m (12.1ft) long to break the current record, but ultimately won with a wool garment measuring 5.59m (18.3ft) long.
He also completed the course within the allotted six hours, completing the effort in 5 hours, 48 minutes and 8 seconds and receiving a certificate from Guinness World Records.
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“I love knitting and I was wondering if my wife could try some world records for that,” Fannon said.
“So she looked online and found someone who could run a marathon and knit scarves at the same time.
“I feel like this is a crazy way to get seen and shine a light on a good cause that I support,” added Fannon, who is running on behalf of the Huntington’s Disease Society and Reorg, which works with veterans, military and emergency services workers affected by the physical and mental stress of their jobs.
Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe is another marathon record breaker [Getty Images]
“I had a ball of yarn in my fanny pack and started doing my first stitch as soon as I crossed the starting line,” he said.
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“I didn’t know how the scarf was going, but was trying to change the color of the wool around each new meter of length, so when I got about four colors I realized I had to get there,” Fannon added.
Meanwhile, Sabastian Sawe was another who made marathon history over the weekend when he became the first runner to run under two hours.
The 31-year-old Kenyan crossed the finish line in 1:59:30, more than a minute faster than the late Kelvin Kiptum’s record of 2:00:35 set in 2023.
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