Royal Marine Corporal Sam Hammond breaks the Guinness World Record for running a marathon with a fridge on his back.
He beat the previous world record by 57 minutes – completing the London Marathon on Sunday in 4 hours, 52 minutes and 10 seconds.
It comes just weeks after Corporal Sam Hammond scooped his first world record for running a half-marathon with his trusty 23kg fridge in Brighton.
The 30-year-old weapons instructor, who lives in Redruth, Cornwall, has now raised more than £4,700 for armed forces’ charity SSAFA.
Donations can be made here https:///2023tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/man-vs-fridge
Corporal Hammond admitted that the punishing ordeal nearly finished him. He had been unable to train with weight at that distance and so had never actually run the full 26 miles before he started the marathon.
He said: “The build-up in the last few weeks, with all that self-induced pressure, was the worst. You question your training. I just wanted to get there and get it done.
“I’d say it was discipline rather than motivation that got me through. It got me through all the training in the pouring rain and it got me to the end of the course on the day.
“The majority of the first half was all a blur. The admiration and drive from all the other runners was amazing though. I must have fist-bumped and high-fived at least a thousand people who were all runners. At the side, despite it pouring with rain, the crowds were six or seven people deep in places.”
He admitted being buoyed up by the atmosphere and setting off too fast. His first major test hit on mile-15. After leaving a tunnel and heading up a slope, Corporal Hammond said he could feel his legs suddenly become very tired.
He added: “I knew I had change tactics. It had become a preservation game. I thought: ‘I’ve still got 10 miles to go. That’s a long way – at least another hour of running’.”
He said the worst came at mile-21 when he hit ‘the wall’ – that critical moment which tested his strength to continue. Switching to walking the inclines, he pushed on despite his exhaustion, cramps and sores on his back and shoulders.
“I knew it would take everything I had but I put my head down and dug deep,” he said. “I could feel, to my knowledge, that my body was wanting to shut down but when I saw the sign for 600 metres-to-go, I knew then I could do it.
“At no point did I think about ditching the fridge, just about walking the rest of the route.”
Referring to the slang term for a Royal Marine, he added: “The boot-neck in me wasn’t going to accept walking to the end – I had to run to the finish. You need to finish on a high, don’t you?
“I am elated to have done it. Thanks to every single person that has messaged, supported, followed me and donated. It is hugely appreciated and I wouldn’t be here without you.”
By coincidence, Corporal Hammond had just been requested to complete his mandatory Armed Forces annual fitness test. He passed.
And the very next day after the marathon, he was back in work at RNAS Culdrose, on an induction course for his next draft with Royal Navy drone experts 700X Naval Air Squadron.
