Local Runner Going Bananas In Effort To Set Bizarre Record
By Timothy McLaughlin
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - When the ODDyssey Half Marathon goes through Fairmount Park this Sunday, hundreds of runners will be in costume. One man -- dressed in a fruit outfit -- will be trying to set a Guinness World Record.
Running 13.1 miles in a banana costume takes strategy, explains Bill Ling, from Blackwood, Camden County:
"It traps in a lot of heat, it's not very heavy, but it does soak up a lot of sweat and gains a lot of weight there."
So Ling -- marketing coordinator of Bryn Mawr Running Company -- says he plans on taking it slow. Well, slow for a two-time Boston Marathon qualifier:
"6:30 average to run a 1:25:00," he says.
At that rate, he should break the record of one hour 25 minutes 45 seconds. It was set in Toronto in 2013 (also in a banana costume).
Why a banana costume, though?
"Banana is probably the most ridiculous thing and that's what we want to do out here," Ling says. "We want to do an awesome goal, but make it as fun as possible."
When he first proposed the idea, race director Carl Ewald had some advice:
"You don't want a costume to be too hot and you don't want a costume to chafe."
Ewald says he likes Ling's chances:
"He's a really good runner and I think he has a really good chance of breaking the record."
Ewald should know. He says about 30-percent of runners do the ODDyssey in costume.
If you want to run -- in costume or not -- there are still spots left, but you have to sign up before Saturday.
