Sumo champion to run L.A. Marathon

If you’re in the Los Angeles area on March 20, you might feel the Earth move.

Three-time U.S. sumo wrestling champion Kelly Gneiting is attempting to become the heaviest person to complete a marathon. It’s actually going to be the second time the 410-pound clydesdale will take part in the Los Angeles Marathon.

Gneiting ‘ran’ the 2008 event in 11:52:11. But he didn’t apply for the Guinness Book of World Records for that attempt. The rules state that he must be weighed before and after the race. The existing record is 275 pounds.

“A couple of buddies met me in Las Vegas and then we flew to Los Angeles,” Gneiting recalled. “[It] was hardest day of my life.”

Gneiting, a statistician in Arizona, said he trains by walking almost 5K every day, and jogging about 10K on Sundays.

He won’t be the only competitor looking to break a record in L.A. Two-time defending champion Wesley Korir wants to better his course record of 2:08:24, set in 2009.

A group of 300 cheerleaders will also attempt to break the record for the world’s longest cheer with the most participants. The previous record is a routine that lasted 5:43 with 297 cheerleaders.

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