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If you were to start running today, the most important thing to buy would be a good pair of shoes... In the London Marathon, one Jersey runner went all-out, dressing up as a shoe as well.
Runner Karl Fitzpatrick turned himself into an island celebrity by training for the London Marathon in a giant trainer costume.
While he originally expected to be finishing in six hours, Karl finished the race on Sunday in 4:08:03, despite the rain weighing down his 5kg costume even more.
"The shoe turned out to be a little superstar and got the crowd going, which in turn got me moving," he said.
While Karl trained on St. Helier’s Waterfront, people waved at him and donated to his fundraiser for Jersey Hospice Care.
He has been on a journey fundraising for Jersey Hospice Care since a good friend’s dad, Alan Walters, passed away at the hospice in 2021.
Four weeks ago, Karl spotted the costume on a mascot at the Hospice 2 Hospice half-marathon. He asked if he could wear the four-foot costume for the London Marathon, and started training in it.
"I think I’ll have an okay first half, but [the costume] is not designed for running," Karl said before the race.
Wearing the costume, he was unable to see his shoes or hear behind him, and had to take the whole costume off if he wanted to eat.
The current world record for 'Fastest marathon dressed as a three dimensional shoe (male)' stands at 3 hours, 54 minutes and 17 seconds.
Pictured: Karl's last run in Jersey.
Initially, Karl was aiming to finish in six hours – two hours more than the record.
However, because his previous time was so good, he has been placed in the “elite” starting group, just one group behind Mo Farah – though his strategy was to start slowly and let other groups catch up.
In the end, Karl wasn't so far off the shoe running record at all, and ended up finishing within 14 minutes of it.
In any case, being a record-breaker wasn't his priority. Speaking ahead of the marathon, he said: "I just want to enjoy it and put smiles on people's faces. There are 250,000 spectators, there are 50,000 runners, I just want to put a smile on a child's face."
Earlier this year, two Jersey runners in ice cream costumes became the fastest people to run a marathon dressed as a sweet food.
Karl was fundraising for Jersey Hospice Care, with a target of £6,000, which he has smashed.
At the time of writing, the total funds raised stand at more than £9,000.
Donations are still pouring in – and if you want to help Karl reach £10,000, click HERE.
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