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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Bonnie Christian

London Marathon 2019: Hilarious moment runner dressed as Big Ben gets stuck at the finish line

This is the hilarious moment a London Marathon runner dressed as Big Ben got stuck as he tried to cross the finish line.

Lukas Bates, from Maidstone, was attempting to break the world record for the fastest marathon dressed as a landmark building, which stands at three hours and 34 minutes.

Mr Bates crossed the line with a time of three hours and fifty-four minutes, with a bit of help from one of the race volunteers.

The finish line arch was too short to accommodate Mr Bates’ 1.5 metre outfit, with video showing the top half of his costume getting stuck and being guided through by a volunteer, adding about 30 seconds to his time.

The quantity surveyor, running for Dementia Revolution, has a personal best of two hours and 59 minutes but said before the race this year's attempt would be a challenge in his elaborate costume.

"Having run the London Marathon four times previously, this year I decided I wanted to do something different, have a bit of fun and wear a crazy costume," he said.

"It's going to be very hard to break the record with the costume I've chosen. I could have made it smaller and easier to carry, but I want it to be a real challenge.”

Overall, 95 runners attempted to break a Guinness World Record at the marathon.

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