Too Good To Be True?

Marathon runner Mark Vaz. Is this a case of too good to be true?

Chariots of Fire or Walter Mitty? Doubts raised over runner's incredible Land's End to John o'Groats claim: Taken at face value, it ranks as one of the all-time greatest feats of human endurance. On Sunday Mark Vaz, a 32-year-old window cleaner from Staffordshire, completed an 860-mile charity run from Land’s End to John O’Groats, and posed proudly with a sign showing his time of 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes, a staggering 31 hours faster than the 14-year-old record for the journey.

Shortly after reaching his goal, he submitted an application to Guinness World Records to have his achievement ratified, and his place in long-distance running history seemed assured.

Mark Vaz pictured towards the end of his run.

But the tightly-knit community of Britain’s ultra-distance runners has now challenged his claim, describing his time as “inconceivable” and branding him a fantasist.

One respected running blogger said it was “just not possible” for a “middle of the pack social runner” to knock more than a day off a record that top-class athletes had failed to beat, while another pointed out that Mr Vaz’s own updates on social media suggested he had run the last 156 miles in little more than 24 hours.

Mr Vaz’s response has been at times contradictory. In the past week he has said he is the victim of jealousy; that he will prove his doubters wrong by repeating the feat; that he is withdrawing his application to Guinness World Records; that he is taking legal action, and that he is giving up running altogether.

Mr Vaz’s Land’s End to John O’Groats run was part of an attempt to run 400 marathons in 400 days, which would also be a record.

Prior to his run, Mr Vaz had a poster made, which he put on his support van, which read: "World Record Attempt, Lands End to John O' Groats.” During the run he kept followers updated with his progress, tweeing: “On target for the world record.”

After the run he changed his Facebook profile picture to an image of himself standing underneath the John O' Groats sign pointing at Land’s End, with white writing which read: "LEJOG 7 days 18 hours 45 minutes." The official Guinness World Record for the run is 9 days 2 hours 26 mins, set by Briton Andrew Rivett in 2002, who ran for an average of 18 hours per day.

Other runners were incredulous. Ross Woodward, whose father Cavin Woodward held the world record for the fastest 100 mile run on a track in 1975, said: "If he hasn't done it in that time, then he hasn't done the full run at all – there's no middle ground.  

"If it turned out he had done it, it would be fantastic and he needs to show credible evidence of this."

Mr Vaz, who claimed he was being trolled on social media and subjected to death threats, released a statement on his Facebook page before later deleting it.

It said: “In regards to running and this record I never once stated I beat it or wanted to beat it, I did it for charity which is close to me to raise money. Unfortunately I won't be doing any more due to it affecting my health.

“I will not be going to Guinness now and making it official as I have been hounded by a number of people and it all makes it now all very bitter. Either way I can't win.”

The following day he said he was standing by his stated time after all, and was in contact with Guinness World Records.

“All I feel now is sour grapes,” he said. “I do not even need to comment on the allegations, I know my time and so do my support team who were there with me. If people do not like what I have achieved then that is up to them.”

Andy Nuttall of ULTRA Magazine, who has donated money to Mr Vaz’s fundraising page, said: "I have been following the Mark Vaz story with interest over the last year, and in particular the last week where his running has become less and less credible.

“There is doubt about his attempt – but I’m afraid 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 they greatest ultra runner who ever lived.

“I have already spoken with Guinness about his World Record submission, giving them detailed pointers, if not evidence, as to why this is incredible.”

Dan Park, another ultra-running blogger, said: “It would be the ultimate Rocky storyline. Sadly it appears that this questionable run is beginning to unravel before Mark’s eyes and there is no Rocky script to be played out on the big screen. It seems far closer to a Walter Mitty spin off.”

Mr Vaz took to marathon running after his wife Tammy suffered a series of miscarriages, and has raised more than £3,500 for the baby charity Tommy’s and for Katharine House Hospice.

Last year Mr Vaz featured in national newspapers after running 53 marathons in 53 days, which he also said was a record. He managed to run his marathons while still completing his daily window cleaning round in Penkridge, near Cannock.

Guinness World Records said Mr Vaz did not hold any official running records. A spokesman said:  "It would be great to ratify this amazing achievement. We welcome Mark to continue with his application and submit his evidence for review to achieve the Guinness World Records title."

When The Daily Telegraph contacted Mr Vaz, his wife said: “We are taking legal action. I’m not speaking to anyone.”

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Revealed: The curious case of marathon man Mark Vaz: As the saga around Mark Vaz continues, and his running accomplishments come into question, the Express & Star looks back on his running history and how he ended up shrouded in controversy. It all began in April of last year, when he set out his plan to run 90 marathons in 90 days. He would be running for baby charity Tommy’s, spurred on by the heartbreak him and his wife had suffered after seven miscarriages.

In the process of his mammoth challenge, the Penkridge window cleaner would also smash the world record for consecutive marathons on consecutive days, which stood at 52. To continue on the 90 theme, Mr Vaz was also aiming to raise £90,000 for Tommy’s. He said he would continue with his window-cleaning round while undertaking the challenge and that he would begin the task on July 7.

Starting in Wolverhampton, his runs would take him through the likes of Walsall, Wheaton Aston, Rugeley, Rochester and Falmouth before finishing in Balloch in Scotland, the scene where he got married to his wife Tammy. He had the route mapped out so he would be able to hand the information over to Guinness and claim the new world record.

By August, Mr Vaz claimed to have run more than 800 miles and it was understood that he had broken the record of number of consecutive ultra marathons run on consecutive days – a record that he does not hold according to the Guinness World Book of Records. They say the record is held by American JC Santa Teresa.

Then it was reported that he had beaten the world record for consecutive marathons on consecutive days after he crossed the line at the Black Country museum to finish his 53rd marathon. Again the Express & Star can reveal that Mr Vaz does not hold this record. The Guinness World Book of Records have Akinori Kusuda from Japan down as the record holder with 52 consecutive marathons – not Mr Vaz.

As October rolled around, Mr Vaz finished his ‘90 in 90’ challenge in Chester – not Balloch – as he then proudly announced that he would be attempting a new challenge, 400 marathons in 365 days. Around the same time he also announced that he would be penning a book on his experiences – although no book is yet published.

Fast forward a week and Mr Vaz was again celebrating, this time as he crossed the line of his 100th marathon in just 97 days. He completed the challenge in Royal Parks, London.

He was due to take some time off from running after the challenges to rest up, but by November he told the Express & Star he had run his 130th marathon. He added that he had not quite worked out the logistics for his 400 in 365 challenge as he continued to run marathons locally.

But there was no slowing down for Mr Vaz, who said he reached the 170 mark in December and then the halfway point in January earlier this year. In the same month he also featured in a promotional video for Microsoft’s new fitness band, which has been viewed over 177,000 times on YouTube. The tech giant have now distanced themselves from Mr Vaz, saying: “Mark Vaz featured in promotional activity earlier this year. “Microsoft Band was not involved in his recent record [LEJOG] attempt. Beyond that, we have nothing else to share.”

In February Mr Vaz allegedly broke the record for the number of marathons run in a year when he completed his 240th, but again Guinness has a separate runner listed as the record holder.

Mr Vaz had previously said on numerous occasions he would be running from Lands End to John O’ Groats in an attempt to break the world record. He said he would complete the challenge in March, but had to pull out due to injury. It was around this time that his coach, Steve O’Brien, said he developed doubts as Mr Vaz would not discuss the injury or reveal any data that he requested, something Mr Vaz strongly denies.

He reattempted the challenge this month and claimed to finish it in world record time, but has now said he will not be submitting the information to Guinness to claim the world record as all he wanted was to raise money and awareness for charity.

Despite the damaging questions over Mr Vaz’s achievements, he must be given credit for the money he has raised for charity – something he has repeatedly said was the core reason for taking on these challenges.

At the time of writing he has raised over £2,000 for Make A Wish, the charity he picked for his LEJOG run. They say they are receiving the money in ‘drips and drabs’ as that is how money is released by Virgin Giving and they have no doubt that ‘the money will come’.

This Window Cleaner's Still Going

Super human, Mark Vaz broke a world record while managing to keep doing his window cleaning day job... and he’s still running!

Marathon runner halfway through ‘400 in 365’ challenge: Marathon man Mark Vaz is almost halfway through his outrageous challenge of completing 400 marathons in 365 days despite dislocating his shoulder earlier in the week.

Mark is raising funds for Adoption UK as he attempts to become the first man to run 400 marathons in a year – so more than one a day. The current record is 239 marathons. To put Mark’s challenge into context, he will be aiming to run a total of 10,488 miles, roughly the same distance as flying from London to Sydney, Australia (10,553 miles).

The window cleaner from Penkridge, Staffs, is set to complete his 200th marathon in Telford on Saturday 23rd January, despite his earlier setback. The accident happened as Mark set himself the challenge of a triple marathon in a day on Monday 18th January. “I tripped over a log on Cannock Chase during my third marathon,” Mark explained. “It was ruddy painful but my friend Phil, who I was running with, popped it back in so I was able to complete 81 miles in a day.”

Mark, who grew up in Shrewsbury after being adopted, described his challenge, which he started in July, 2015, as an “emotional rollercoaster”. “Every day’s different but I’ve never had any problems getting myself out of bed at 4am to go running, as I love it!” On reaching his 200th marathon, Mark said: “It will be like a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders – if you’ll pardon the pun! It’s a real morale-booster to know I’ll be halfway there.”

The 32 year-old’s next big milestone will be his 300th marathon when he runs in the Greater Manchester Marathon on 10th April. Part of Mark’s 400th marathon will see him return to his home town, where he will compete in the Shrewsbury Half Marathon on 19th June. He will also be running from Land’s End to John O’Groats in March, which will be 813 miles in nine days.

Mark, who can be found on Twitter @400in365, hopes to have broken a Guinness World Record after running 90 marathons in as many days last year. The current record is 52 but Mark’s record will not be officially ratified until he finishes his current challenge. Anyone who would like to sponsor Mark can do so by visiting his online fundraising page.

Meet The Super Human Window Cleaner

Super human, Mark Vaz broke a world record while managing to keep doing his day job... and he’s still running!

This guy ran 90 marathons in 90 days: Mark Vaz broke a world record while managing to keep doing his day job... and he’s still running! Could you run a marathon and then go to work? Maybe once, but could you do that for 90 days? That's what this guy has done, and he's still going.

Mark Vaz has broken the official Guinness World Record for most marathons run on consecutive days – previously 52 – and he now hopes to smash the record for most marathons run in one year, which currently sits at 239. He hopes to run 400 by running more than one marathon some days.

The Englishman has been doing all this while still working as a window cleaner. We spoke to the marathon man to find out why he decided to take up the challenge.

So first off, how did it feel to finish your 90th Marathon?

After the MBNA Chester Marathon I was really, really emotional, the last two miles in particular, as it was coming to an end. 90 marathons in 90 days was the goal, but I've kept going to reach 100 marathons in 100 days.

But you've decided to keep on running to break another record?

I've kept on running and my plan is to run 400 marathons in a year. At the moment I'm running from Stafford to London. That's 140 miles (225km)  in three days. Yesterday I ran 70 miles (112km), and today I'll run 53. It's not a huge amount of miles, but it's a good slog. The 70 miles was difficult, not so much physically but mentally. Around mile 50 I took a tantrum, it was really difficult.

Finishing the 90th marathon was emotional.

That's quite a challenge. Why are you doing this, and why was 90 the initial goal?

I decided to take up the challenge to raise money for two charities – Tommy's The Baby Charity and Katherine House Hospice. The idea to run 90 came into my head as I wanted to raise £90,000. Pregnancy also lasts nine months, so the nine connection, and I also really wanted to see what my body could cope with. I never doubted I would complete the challenge, when I decide to do something I will do it – I just keep going. I never doubted I would complete the challenge.

Pain as Mark Vaz reaches the finish line.

Did you have much experience of running before this?

I've run since I was young, and realised early on that I was good at distances. I hadn't done an official marathon before, but had regularly run 20 miles (32km) on my own. My previous marathon time was 4.5 hours but my quickest time in this challenge happened on day 60 – 2h 56m.

How did you train for the challenge?

I trained for eight months before the challenge started by running and going to the gym. I lifted weights in the gym to strengthen my muscles and bones. I also didn't overdo it. I would run maybe 18 miles (28km) then have a day off, the key was consistency and balance.

Thumbs up from Vaz in Chester.

What have been the toughest and best parts?

The challenge was most difficult at the beginning. On the evening after day three I had terrible pins and needles in the back of my legs, I was in so much pain. But it was my body adapting to the increased mileage; it's getting so much easier.

Have you had to eat a lot more to cope with all the mileage you're covering?

I've been drinking lots of milk, eating pasta, fish, fruit, vegetables – all the healthy stuff. I've eaten a few bits of junk food but mainly to get my calories up. I've had to eat a lot more than usual! My body is adapting to the challenge!

The end of the marathon was emotional.

Of course we have to know, how many pairs trainers have you gone through?

I've gone through 14 pairs of trainers so far but have been sponsored by New Balance, who send me new pairs. That's been a real help.

And will we see you in the Guinness Book of Records?

Guinness knows about the record and I will send away all my times when I have finally finished.

Follow Mark's journey on Facebook and visit his fundraising page. More info here.