American father becomes heaviest person to run ultra marathon after health wake-up call

When Chad Schumacher (USA) was 45 years old, his weight had peaked at 330 lbs (150 kg), and he had never ran a race in his life. 

For the last 15 years, he had put all his energy into his business and family – raising two children in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, USA with his wife, and promoting his small handcrafted products company. Busy with daily tasks, he had always put his health and fitness on the sidelines for bigger goals, including taking care of his and his wife’s elderly parents. 

Yet when 2019 came along, his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and his dad was afflicted with a bad heart valve. Everything changed, and very quickly.

“Seeing the struggles they faced as they aged was a wake-up call that I couldn't continue to postpone taking better care of my body,” he said to GWR. 

“My perspective had to shift from ‘I'll take care of myself after I take care of everyone else’, to ‘I'll take care of myself so that I have the best version of me to offer the people I care about.’”

Almost immediately, Chad tried to improve his fitness. He took to the soccer field with his younger son, trying on the sport he used to play as a child. And from there, he rediscovered a love for endurance events – saying that being in his 40s, it was unlikely he’d ever be the fastest… but maybe he could be the most stubborn.

And as it turns out – effort pays off.

Six years after restarting his fitness journey, Chad broke the Guinness World Records title for the heaviest person to complete an ultra marathon, after running the 50k race at the Hennepin Hundred in Colona, Illinois. Weighing-in before the race at 305.56 lbs (138.6 kg), he smashed the record set by Colin Anderson (USA) in 2016, who completed the Rocky Raccoon 100-mile (160 km) endurance run at 287.8 lbs (130.54 kg). 

“I didn't become an endurance athlete to get a world record,” said Chad. “I did it to access the version of myself I wanted to give to my family. When I realized I had a shot to break the record, I applied because I hoped to give people permission to start. 

“If a 45-year-old, 300 lb guy who has never run so much as a 5K can complete an ultra marathon and set a Guinness World Records title, you have permission to go start working on that goal that's been calling to you.”

Read more stories about inspiring endurance runners in our dedicated Sports and Fitness section!

Chad explained that he started to push himself physically by searching for endurance events that measured completion, and not speed. 

Around the same time, he got into precision rifle shooting – and he found some contests, such as the Mammoth Sniper Challenge, which incorporates both of his passions. He began training for the 72-hour, 35+ mi (65 km) event with his friend Eric in 2023, which kickstarted his love for long-distance challenges like ultra marathons and competitive sports.

The Hennepin Hundred race took place nearby, and he recounted in a Facebook post that during one of his workouts his friend asked him if he was sure a “big guy like you” could compete.

“I responded, ‘Man, I'm sure bigger guys than me do it all the time,” Chad said. “I googled it in the car afterwards and found out that wasn't the case. The previous Guinness World Records title holder was 20 lbs or so lighter than me... I didn't even know there was a record.”

Nevertheless, he was almost done with his training cycle, so he figured he might as well give it a shot… and 50k later, he was a new Guinness World Records title holder!

“Looking back, I’m amazed at how much extra energy I wasted on all that fear and worry, while still reaching both goals,” he said to GWR. “I think we're better off swapping ‘Can I do this?’  for  ‘what could I accomplish if I didn't spend any energy doubting myself?’”

He also added that: “People are smart; they're good at picking goals that fit them, and they're good at figuring out how to get there. Most of them just need permission to start.”

So to all those out there reading this, Chad said he has a few simple words of advice – “Go do it.”

“Whatever you're telling yourself you can't do... you can,” he said in his Facebook post. “Be smart about it. Train well. Support your mind and body. Be ready to fail and keep going. And go surprise yourself.”