Chris Terrill, a 73-year-old marathon runner from Wilmington in East Sussex, recently achieved a remarkable feat by setting a new world record for completing a marathon on crutches. Despite having run more than 50 marathons worldwide, Terrill needed a hip replacement after injuring himself playing cricket last year. Undeterred by his condition, he decided to participate in the Brighton Marathon and finished with a time of six hours, 11 minutes, and 11 seconds, surpassing the previous record by over 13 minutes.
Terrill expressed his surprise upon learning about the existence of the record, as he had not been aware of it before his running club brought it to his attention. The process of validating the record took nearly a year as Guinness World Records had to verify the times recorded by the marathon organizers. Reflecting on his achievement, Terrill jokingly remarked that he would have run faster if he had known about the record in advance.
During the marathon, Terrill received encouragement from Paula Radcliffe, the race starter, who wished him good luck as he set out on his challenging endeavor. The interaction with Radcliffe, a renowned long-distance runner, served as a highlight of Terrill’s marathon experience and his entire sporting career. Having fully recovered from his injury, Terrill no longer requires the use of crutches and continues to participate in marathons to raise funds for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity. His upcoming event is the Brighton Half Marathon scheduled for March 2
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