Gninnur

This Sunday, Richard Strasbourg will attempt to make the Guinness Book of World Records by running the fastest half-marathon ever… backwards.

So, as I was browsing through the Guinness Book of World Records (2007), looking for a skipping marathon record (my friend Wanda skips on long runs) I found other records. Some were truly funny, like juggling and other stunt running records, spectacular but circus-like. And then I found a female backward running record, but no male record (for the half-marathon anyway). I went to the Guinness Web site and asked if they had one. They did not. I went to the track and gave it a try.

Hmmm. I did a little research and discovered an entire page of world records for running backwards, including a male half-marathon record of 1:42 set in 1987. Indeed, I was amazed to learn that backwards running has a long and venerable history.

It seems to me that a true backwards running enthusiast would set his watch at the record time, then let it count down to zero while he raced from the finish line to the start. He would also hand fluids and GU to race volunteers, and play all the music on his iPod in reverse – no doubt leading to a host of Satanic messages and clues about how Paul is dead coming through his ear buds.