World record goes to flying kiwi

You don’t often see a kiwi fly.

Runners and spectators at yesterday’s Huntly Half-marathon were witness to the rare treat though.

Caleb Koia-hamling, of Paeroa, might not have crossed the finish line first but he ran the 21.1-kilometre course dressed as a kiwi and in so doing became a Guinness World Record holder for the fastest man over that distance in an animal costume.

His time of 1 hour and 51 minutes was no mean feat, considering the previous holder (three minutes slower) was an Englishman dressed as an emu – surely a much more aerodynamic creature. Fastest half-marathon dressed as a doctor: Darren Aitchison (UK), 1 hour 49 minutes Fastest half-marathon dressed as a fruit: David Partington dressed as a tomato (UK), 1 hour 48 minutes Fastest half-marathon dressed as a vegetable: Nick Lodge dressed as a carrot (UK), 1 hour 37 minutes Fastest half-marathon wearing a gas mask: James Fraser (UK), 1 hour 51 minutes Fastest half-marathon barefoot on ice/snow: Wim Hof (Finland), 2 hours 16 minutes

Mr Koia-hamling might be an avid runner but the extent of his training in the costume only stretched to four 7km runs.

It was a little hotter inside the suit than he expected.

‘‘The first six or seven Ks were bearable but the whole middle was pretty horrible,’’ he said.

‘‘In fact, it would’ve been great if it was a 7km run.’’

Luckily he got a few pats on the back from fellow runners and more than a few shouts of ‘‘go kiwi!’’ from people along the course, which encouraged him to keep going.

The experience cannot have been that bad though because Mr Koia-hamling told the Times he was now considering running the length of the country for charity, stopping off at various towns to complete challenges.

All the while dressed as the kiwi of course.

But before that, he had more world records in his sights.

There was the fastest halfmarathon dressed as a doctor, as well as records for someone dressed as a fruit or vegetable that were next on the list.

‘‘I’d quite like to have a few stupid half-marathon records,’’ he said.