American serial record holder David Rush completed a marathon wearing 125 T-shirts, earning a new Guinness World Records title after nearly six hours on the course.
Guinness World Records announced that Rush, known as “Record Breaker,” achieved the feat during a marathon in Boise, Idaho, on May 16, surpassing the previous mark of 100 T-shirts set by Britain’s Brendan Matthews at the 2024 London Marathon.
The 41-year-old described the attempt as the toughest challenge of his record-breaking career, saying: “This record was another beast entirely and it took everything from me and my team to cross the finish line.”
Rush said his pursuit of the title followed years of setbacks. Recalling an earlier attempt, he said: “When I put 114 shirts on, I lost circulation in my neck, and when I nearly blacked out on the starting line, I abandoned the attempt.”
His first bid at the half-marathon record in 2022 also came at a cost. “222 layers of shirt between my underarm and my side literally ended up with me dislocating my shoulder. Let’s call it growing pains,” he said.
Preparation for the marathon demanded weeks of training under heavy clothing. Since practising in 125 shirts was impractical, Rush wore multiple layers of shirts, jackets and fleeces before carrying a weighted backpack during training sessions.
On race day, dressing for the challenge alone took about 30 minutes. Rush joked that the mountain of clothing left him looking “potato-shaped,” a fitting description in Idaho, widely known as “The Potato State.”
The warm weather turned the race into a battle against rising body temperature. Supported by a team armed with ice and water, Rush pressed on despite swollen hands, severe lower-back pain and signs that his body was nearing heatstroke.
“I told myself that I didn’t train for years for this just to give up,” he said. “I stood back up and kept staggering down the road, knowing that I could and would stop if it was going to risk my life.”
Rush said his record-breaking journey has always served a purpose beyond collecting titles.
“For the last 15 years, my passion has been promoting STEM education – that’s science, technology, engineering and math,” he said. “But I tell you, with a growth mindset and grit, if you set your mind on it, believe in yourself and pursue with a passion, you can accomplish virtually anything, even if you’re not technically good at it to start with.”
Rush crossed the finish line in 5 hours, 54 minutes and 50 seconds. His children joined him for the closing stretch, bringing an emotional end to a challenge that added another Guinness World Records title to his growing collection.