417-Pound Man, Cheerleaders Attempt LA Marathon Records
Barefoot runner Julian Romero of Pasadena, CA runs a 2:56:45, LA Marathon 2010 | Photo by kjdrill via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
Two Guinness World Records attempts will be made at the March 20 Los Angeles Marathon: 1) The heaviest person to complete a marathon, and 2) The largest ever cheerleading dance.
Kelly Gneiting, a 417-pound statistician from Ft. Defiance, AZ and three-time United States sumo champion will be making the cause for heaviest marathon finisher, reports the Daily Breeze. Gneiting was not credited with the record in 2008 after completing the marathon in 11 hours, 52 minutes, and 11 seconds, because he did not follow Guinness requirements about filmed weigh-ins immediately before and immediately after the race. The current record holder is maxed out at 275 pounds.
The 40-year-old Gneiting reports that he trains every day including a six-mile jog on Saturdays and walks a mile-and-a-half each way to his job. He expects to complete the 26-mile race in nine to 11 hours, jogging half and walking the rest.
The Guinness World Records attempts for the largest cheerleading dance will also be made during the L.A. Marathon and will take place just west of the Beverly Hills city limit at Santa Monica Boulevard at Moreno Drive on mile 18th of the course.
After registration, a six-minute cheer routine will be distributed to each cheerleading team. Nearly 300 cheerleaders representing 11 teams were at last year's race and "we're already approaching that number with seven weeks to go," said Ginger Williams, L.A. Marathon LLC's director of community relations, reports the Daily Breeze. The current record is 297 cheerleaders, five minutes and 43 seconds at the Universal Cheerleaders Association Mid-South Regional Championships in March 2009.