Break a record at a marathon

How to apply

At each of these marathon events, an adjudicator will be at the finish line to tell you whether you have successfully achieved the record you are attempting.

This is usually a paid-for service but, for these special occasions, the verification will be carried out for free.

Please note that in order to apply for a record, you must have secured a place at your chosen marathon; Places are not available via Guinness World Records.

An official Guinness World Records attempt is a great way of enhancing your marathon experience, as well as potentially raising awareness and money for charity. Who knows, you might make history!

You will need to include the following: 

• A record title and full description of the Guinness World Records attempt.
• Dimensions of the costume or object that is to be worn or carried (including height, width, depth and weight).
• Applicant’s unique running number allocated via ballot-place confirmation, through a charity or other guaranteed means of entry.
• Projected finish time in any costume you hope to wear. 
• Once you have applied, the allocated record manager will request that a photograph clearly showing the runner wearing or carrying the full costume and/or object is submitted via the online portal. 
• Should your application be successful, you will be required to complete a biographical form.
• If the record title you wish to run for doesn’t exist on our website, you are able to suggest a new title. Please note that runners will not be charged the £5 fee as stated at the beginning of the process. If you have any further questions please email marathon@guinnessworldrecords.com with your proposed title and image of the costume for our records manager to review. (Please note: this email account is for new categories only and any other correspondence won’t be responded to.)

Marathon review

To make sure our records are fair and up to date, some changes have been made to our marathon record categories following a thorough year-long review.

The focus of the review was to ensure we’re not inadvertently discriminating against any groups, perpetuating any stereotypes, or bringing any professions into disrepute. Or put simply, ensuring that our records reflect the world we live in today.

We’ve also streamlined our record categories, which has included merging similar record categories and discontinuing some record titles.

However, the review has also resulted in some exciting new categories being created and leaves hundreds of marathon titles to choose from.