David Rush runs marathon wearing 125 T-shirts in most-gruelling records challenge yet

David Rush (USA) has claimed his most difficult world record yet by running a marathon while wearing 125 T-shirts!

The serial record breaker wore so many layers of clothing that he couldn’t even put his arms down flat by his sides.

But determined as ever, David took the record for most T-shirts worn during a marathon (male) during a running event in Boise, Idaho, on 16 May.

His mammoth effort beat the existing record of 100 set by Brendan Matthews (UK) at the 2024 London Marathon.

David, who goes by the name “Record Breaker”, has completed similar challenges before, but not without difficulty.

In a video on his YouTube channel, the dad-of-three talked of his record for most T-shirts worn during a half marathon, which he first set in 2022 with a total of 111.

He said: “222 layers of shirt between my underarm and my side literally ended up with me dislocating my shoulder.

“Let’s call it growing pains.”

David explained how he lost that record to another runner, so came back to attempt it again in 2023, but things went horribly wrong.

He said: “When I put 114 shirts on, I lost circulation in my neck, and when I nearly blacked out on the starting line, I abandoned the attempt.”

A good lesson from David, here! Record attempts like this can be very dangerous and you should always listen to your body.

David, 41, did eventually take his record back in 2025 with a total of 137.

Explaining how he ended up going for the full marathon, he said in his video: “By the end I thought, ‘I could do another 13 miles’. Pride comes before the fall.

“During my pursuit of breaking the most world records, I have faced some gruelling experiences. I have juggled continuously for over 13 hours, I have balanced a running lawnmower on my chin, I have balanced a running chainsaw on my chin for the longest period of time, I have juggled while running continuously 188 laps around a track for 29 miles straight, I have climbed 10,000 steps while juggling up and down continuously.

“This record was another beast entirely and it took everything from me and my team to cross the finish line.”

Read about more records like this in our Sports and Fitness section.

While David couldn’t put on 125 T-shirts on his own in order to practise, he says he’d pull on a few T-shirts, jumpers, jackets and fleeces, and then grab a backpack filled with weights to head out on to the streets for a sweaty stroll.

When race day came around, it took David 30 full minutes just to put all the T-shirts on.

He joked he was basically potato-shaped during his run, but that it was appropriate given Idaho is known as “The Potato State”. He even posed for a picture in front of a giant model of a potato.

With the day a little hotter than expected, David says he was already feeling the heat just 0.7 miles into the 26.2-mile course.

He kept his temperature regulated with the help of ice and water, with his support team on hand to spray him when needed and keep him as cool and hydrated as possible.

David says he got to a point where his core body temperature was so high he was on the verge of shutting down with heatstroke, his hands were swollen and he had terrible pain in his lower back.

He said: “I told myself that I didn’t train for years for this just to give up. I stood back up and kept staggering down the road, knowing that I could and would stop if it was going to risk my life.

“Now, people ask me, ‘Why do you put your body through this torture? Why do you break Guinness World Records titles?’

“Well, for the last 15 years, my passion has been promoting STEM education – that’s science, technology, engineering and math. Our students will struggle with science or fail at engineering and say, ‘I could never become an engineer’.

“But I tell you, with a growth mindset and grit, if you set your mind on it, believe in yourself and pursue with a passion, you can accomplish virtually anything, even if you’re not technically good at it to start with.”

David crossed the marathon finish line in 5 hr 54 min 50 sec with his family by his side. Overcome with emotion as his children ran the last stretch of the route alongside him, David had made it and added another incredibly impressive achievement to his list of world records.