Is this window cleaner really the fastest man ever to run from Land’s End to John O’Groats?
FOR runners of crazy distances, the 860-mile route is the Holy Grail of endurance – and the athlete who ran it fastest is regarded almost as a deity.
So when a window cleaner carrying a few extra pounds claimed to have shaved 31 hours off the record for running between Land’s End and John O’Groats, the boast certainly raised eyebrows.
But now there is doubt over whether marathon runner Mark Vaz, 32, will even attempt to claim the world record after he was ‘trolled’ by ultra-runners who refuse to believe him.
Mr Vaz, from Penkridge, Staffordshire, claimed to have arrived at John O’Groats last Saturday, seven days 18 hours and 45 minutes after he left Land’s End. If he is telling the truth, he has smashed Andrew Rivett’s 2002 record by a day and seven hours.
Mr Rivett ran the route in the opposite direction from Mr Vaz, arriving at Land’s End after nine days, two hours and 26 minutes on the road.
But ultra-runners say it is ‘not possible’ that Mr Vaz could have run the distance in his claimed time. They describe him as a ‘middle of the pack social runner’. Yet his claimed time for completing Land’s End to John O’Groats, said one expert, would make him the greatest ultra-runner who ever lived.
On arrival at mainland Scotland’s north-eastern tip last Saturday, Mr Vaz tweeted: ‘We are here – John O’Groats. Challenge complete. Completely done in and looking forward to sleep.’
He later posted a Facebook profile picture showing him at the John O’Groats sign. He wrote on the picture: ‘LEJOG 7 days 18 hours 45 minutes’.
But, days later, Mr Vaz put a statement on his Facebook page – before swiftly deleting the entire account.
He wrote: ‘In regards to running and this record I’ve never once stated I beat it or wanted to beat it. I did it to raise money for a charity which is close to me.
‘I will not be going to Guinness now and making it official. I just wanted to get my point across about why I did Land’s End.’
He said he now planned to give up running because it was affecting his health.
Mr Vaz, who was raising money for the Make-A-Wish charity, certainly has some ultra-running pedigree. Last year he made headlines for running 90 marathons in 90 days.
He set himself the challenge to raise funds for Tommy’s, a charity which supports those who have suffered loss through stillbirth or miscarriage.
Having first declared he would not be approaching Guinness, Mr Vaz changed his story later in the week and said he would send off the information to have his record ratified.
He added: ‘I do not need to comment on the allegations. I know my time and so do my support team who were there with me. I am still in the process of sending all the information off to Guinness. I have closed my Facebook account as people are trolling me. If people do not like what I achieved that is up to them.’
But Gary Kiernan, an ultrarunner who writes for running website run247, said: ‘I know the course, I know what it takes out of you. For him it is just not possible. He is a middle of the pack social runner.’
Andy Nuttall of ULTRA magazine said: ‘There is doubt about his attempt, but it’s more than that. A performance of this magnitude would, in my professional opinion, propel Mark to the status not only of the greatest UK ultra-runner, but probably the greatest ultra-runner ever.’
A spokesman for Guinness World Records said: ‘We welcome Mark to continue with his application and submit his evidence for review to achieve the Guinness World Records title.’
‘People are just trolling me’