Kelly Gneiting, Heaviest Man To Finish A Marathon Ever (VIDEO)

Kelly Gneiting is officially the heaviest person to finish a marathon ever.

The 400-pound, 6-foot tall, sumo wrestler set the Guinness world record for being the heaviest person to finish a marathon Sunday, according to the LA Times. Gneiting is also a 3-time U.S. national champion sumo wrestler.

His time was 9 hours, 48 minutes, and 52 seconds, according to the LA Times.

He destroyed the old record of 275 pounds, and beat his own unofficial personal best of 11 hours, 52 minutes, and 11 seconds according to Fox Sports.

Gneiting never doubted his ability to finish. "I honestly think I'm one of the best athletes in the world," he told the LA Times prior to the race.

After jogging the first 8 miles, he walked the final 18. According to Fox Sports he claims he was delirious from mile 10 onward.

"I was really struggling in the last five miles," he told the LA Times, "but I said to myself, 'If I have to crawl, I will.'"

The video below followed Gneiting, and contains footage of him running the race.

WATCH:

Comments

[petit chaton]

10:26 AM on 03/23/2011

Well done, Kelly Gneiting!!! Great Post!! ...something other than typical HP sports post involving hockey brawl, hockey punch-fest, baseball benchclear, or (fill in your sport) cheating spouse.

[Cougar31]

03:43 AM on 03/23/2011

Kudos to this guy!

[Bandini]

03:43 AM on 03/23/2011

you left out the rest of the story.

then he went to McDonalds and ate 25 big macs

[flinthfp]

12:57 AM on 03/23/2011

No big deal ....Rush Limbaugh does it everyday...

[iRock]

11:35 PM on 03/22/2011

I love stories like this.

[Nicole Dixson]

09:32 PM on 03/22/2011

I really don't like the title of the article. Good for him!

[LogicalMathMan]

08:42 PM on 03/22/2011

More power to this man. Too bad an endorphin rush eludes his lofty goal.

[Esteban Steven Escobar]

06:24 PM on 03/22/2011

Congratulations to all the winners and please check out your photos of the LA Marathon 2011
http://diversitynewspublications.com/2011/03/markos-geneti-and-buzunesh-deba-set-records-at-the-26th-annual-honda-la-marathon/

[Max Shaw]

05:46 PM on 03/22/2011

Kudos sir! Great job! Just dont eat anymore 'Kudos' and you should surely be besting that time in the near future.

[OneTop]

05:02 PM on 03/22/2011

Well at least he finished on the same day.

A typical human walking speed (2.7 mph or 4.3 km/h); below a speed of about 2 m/s, it is more efficient to walk than to run, but above that speed, it is more efficient to run.
The speed of signals (action potentials) travelling along axons in the human cortex.

So he completed a marathon race at slightly below typical walking speed.

Well done, especially with all the weight.

[EStreetShuffler]

04:45 PM on 03/22/2011

But not the heaviest man to finish a Marathon Candy Bar, I bet.

(Sorry, that was for everyone 40 and older who remember those treats.)

With that out of the way, and as someone who just started running again after years of well, not running, my hat is off to Mr. Gneiting. Well done.

[mugsbugs]

03:59 PM on 03/22/2011

huffpo is going down the tubes. tweeting "fattest man to finish marathon" is highly offensive.

[Box500]

01:52 PM on 03/22/2011

Broad definition of "marathon" or "race." He walked it. Hey..if it makes morbidly obese unhealthy people feel better, fine.

[Nicole Dixson]

09:33 PM on 03/22/2011

Well, at least he didn't drop dead like a couple of "skinny" runners have done in several past marathons.

[cphill]

09:53 PM on 03/22/2011

OK, he walked much of it. But, at least he tried. We should encourage and applaud the effort.

[JessiChamberlin]

11:59 AM on 03/22/2011

Wow, good for him! Mind over matter is amazing! Running a marathon is definately no easy feat and with 400 lbs to lug around - what an inspiration. You don't need to run a marathon to get the benefits of physical activity. Start with a 10 minute walk everyday, or just increase what you already do. For simple tips that can easily be applied to your busy life check out this wonderful blog: http://blog.mydiscoverhealth.com/

[PsylliPig]

11:56 AM on 03/22/2011

This guy must have a heart like a nuclear power plant.