Canadian looking to break Guinness World Records

Two Canadians are setting out to break wonky Guinness World Records this weekend.

In Sunday’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon Paul Statchuk and David Hiddleston will suit up as a lacrosse player and a banana, respectively. Both will be running the half-marathon distance. Paul is looking to break the Guinness record for a half-marathon while dressed in lacrosse gear. David is looking to do the same as a racer dressed in a fruit costume.

Both have previous resumes in the field of dressing up for road races, and both say the organization which tracks these odd records aren’t as lenient as you may think.

“The company that I work for bought a banana suit but the Guinness people said it doesn’t fit the standards,” said Hiddleston. “They sent a picture of what would be an appropriate suit. It has to be one complete unit. Mine has two parts.”

Statchuk has similar sentiments about the record keepers. He said the only piece of equipment he won’t have to wear will be lacrosse cleats. All other gear must follow international lacrosse rules, and he’ll even need to carry a lacrosse stick.

Hiddleston already has the Guinness World Record for a half-marathon dressed as a mascot and Statchuck has two over the marathon dressed in hockey and football equipment.

“There’s even a Guinness adjudicator who moves around the course to make sure it’s legit,” said Statchuk. “You can’t even take off your helmet.”

Hiddleston thinks he has a good shot at breaking his record.

“On Sunday I ran the Chicago Marathon so I’m still a little tired from that. Normally I can run a half-marathon about ten minutes faster than the current record, which is 1:31. I don’t know how fast I’ll be, but I’m going to aim for 1:30.”

Statchuk will be raising money for Right to Play and Spirit of the Stick campaigns. Hiddleston is raising money for the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.

“The reason I chose Toronto Waterfront was the exposure and it meshed well with what I’m looking to do and the charities I’m pushing. STWM has done a great job with the charity challenge to help raise money for so many causes,” said Statchuk.