SUMMARY: Bob Johnson completed the Silverstone half marathon yesterday in a time of 2hrs 20mins. With a view to completing the London Marathon in a fake two-man canoe, the London authorities insisted that the Silverstone half was completed in order to test out the costume and the surrounding safety issues. The canoe didn’t knock anybody over and no complaints were received so we’re assuming that we passed the test… waiting for confirmation…
BACKGROUND: Bob was not allowed to go for a Guinness World Record (GWR) in last year’s London marathon because no wheeled-devices of any description were allowed in the race. This meant that his home-made hoover with super-slick scooter wheels could not be used. Instead he stripped the guts out of a real hoover and carried that for the 26.2 miles (thinly disguised as Freddie Mercury of Queen singing “I want to break free”).
WORLD RECORD: Bob has been working with GWR since July last year and the fake two-man Indian canoe meets their criteria for a two-person costume. Bob and his brother therefore intend to go for the world record designated “fastest marathon in a two-person costume” and we understand that the record will be awarded if we beat the 5 hour mark.
PROBLEMS: Constructing the basic frame of the canoe in two weeks has been troublesome but the structure did survive the 1/2M test yesterday. Finding “spotters” (helpers/guides) to guide the canoe in a “sea” of runners has also been problematical (both for Silverstone and London). The main problem has been for my bother, Jon, who experienced considerable back pain while training and physio treatment has not helped with that. He therefore had an MRI scan last Wednesday and the results, on Friday, showed that he had a compression fracture in his back plus remnants of similar injuries in other vertebrae. Sadly Jon had to withdraw from the team and his son, Richard can be seen in the attached photos. Johnson’s coaches remain a major sponsor/contributor to the overall effort…
LONDON: The plan for London is now the focus of attention… Watch this space…
Bob Johnson