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Quebec runner sets strange Guinness World Record at Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Hugo Paradis ran the marathon in 3:42:59 while carrying a 54-inch ironing board and an iron

ironing board marathon guinness world records Photo by: MarathonPhotos

You could say Hugo Paradis of Quebec City ran the 2022 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon with his hands full. The 32-year-old runner carried an ironing board in one hand and an actual iron in the other to set the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon while carrying an ironing set (3:42:59).

Hugo Paradis celebrates his new Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon while carrying an ironing set. Photo: MarathonPhotos

The previous record for this accomplishment was four hours and 15 minutes, Paradis finished 32 minutes under the record. “I started too fast,” Paradis wrote. “I was nervous I wouldn’t make it, but the encouragement along the way made the record worth it.”

Paradis says his motivation behind the record was to make his girlfriend laugh since he wasn’t doing enough ironing around the house. “I saw the ironing board challenge on the official list of GWR to be beaten and I thought to myself: wow, you have to be mindless to do that!”

He originally laughed at the idea of someone running with an ironing board but thought it would be a great way to make light of the marathon. 

The ironing board was a standard size of 54 inches (1.4 metres) long and 15 inches (38 cm) wide, and weighed around eight pounds. Most irons weigh between three and five pounds.

We aren’t sure how Paradis dealt with the water stations, or fuel, as both his hands were full. 

By the looks of it, his greatest challenge was finding a comfortable spot to carry the ironing board. He started carrying the board in his right hand, but after 5K, he switched it back and forth from his back to his right hand. The ironing board had an “Official Guinness World Record Attempt” bib pinned to the front.

Hugo Paradis (middle) at the Canada Man Canada Woman Xtreme Triathlon in 2018. Photo: Hugo Paradis/Facebook

Paradis comes from an endurance sport background, completing the Mont Tremblant Ironman triathlon in 2017 and holding a marathon PB of 3:23:54.

He says he’s not planning to go for another GWR anytime soon, although he has thought about running with a basket of laundry at next year’s race. 

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