British man runs 2:26 marathon in Super Mario costume

When British runner Hugo Fry missed his goal at the 2025 London Marathon, he knew he needed to stop taking things so seriously. Just two weeks later, at Sunday’s Copenhagen Marathon, he accomplished exactly that—setting a Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon dressed as a video game character.

Fry went full Super Mario—blue overalls, white gloves, plus the iconic red cap and the fake stache—blazing through the Danish capital in an eye-popping 2:26:47. Even more impressive, Super Mario powered through the second half faster than his first, finishing 33rd overall.

“Why take yourself seriously?” Fry wrote on Strava. “Sure, a running purist might not enjoy this, but when you can run a marathon dressed as a video game character—you just do it. It was so, so fun.”

Despite the costume lacking pockets for mid-race fuel storage, Fry obliterated the previous record of 2:52:47, set at the 2023 TCS London Marathon—smashing it by 26 minutes.

This isn’t Fry’s first record-breaking costume run. At the 2024 London Marathon, he raised C$8,000 for the British Heart Foundation while clocking 2:33:23 dressed as Santa Claus—setting the record for the fastest marathon in a Santa costume (which he still holds). 

Out of the costume, Fry has a marathon best of 2:20:03, run at the 2024 Berlin Marathon. As for what’s next? He’s not sure yet, but one thing’s certain—there will be another costume. “I took some souls out on the course today,” Fry said. “Next time, I’m running in a dress.”