Runner hopes to become ‘world's fastest shrimp' at London Marathon
An avid runner with a penchant for fancy dress hopes to become the "world's fastest shrimp" at the London Marathon. Jamie Campbell, 31, who lives in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, is on a mission to beat a time of three hours 13 minutes and 18 seconds to dethrone the current Guinness World Records (GWR) holder for the fastest marathon dressed as a crustacean (male).
Donning a shrimp costume he ordered online – which is red and pink, made of polyester and features a pair of somewhat piercing eyes – Mr Campbell said he is confident he has what it takes to be king crustacean. "When the fastest marathon as a crustacean popped up and it's faster than my personal best – but it's definitely achievable – it just seemed like a really perfect opportunity," he told the PA news agency.
"If I don't (beat it), I will be a very unhappy shrimp." Mr Campbell, who heads commercial partnerships at digital health company Avegen, said he has a reputation among his friends for experimenting with "quite funny fancy dress", so felt it was apt to find a way to add some humour to his London Marathon running debut.
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"I live in Southend, Essex, a city that's deeply connected to seafood. Our famous seaside is known for its rich fishing history, and our local football team, Southend United, is affectionately called The Shrimpers," he added. "Dressing as a shrimp feels like the perfect nod to both the city and our seafood heritage."
His wife helped to tailor his shrimp outfit so it suits GWR requirements, which includes it needing to go past his knees and not being too flexible. He has even trained in his crustacean get-up, much to the amusement of fellow runners.
"I've done one run in it with my local triathlon club (Jon Brown Run and Tri Club) and everybody loved it," he said. "They couldn't not laugh when they were just watching me run around next to them or running with them as well.
"Obviously a lot of seafood, shrimp, prawn-related puns were being thrown around and people can watch out for me running around Southend and maybe even a local Parkrun in it." His main concern is the unpredictability of London weather and hopes it is fairly cool on the day of the marathon, adding: "I'm a fresh shrimp, I can't be having it too hot."
He will be raising money for Basics Essex, a charity which is comprised of volunteer doctors and paramedics who respond to incidents at the request of the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust. This largely drew inspiration from his family's background in healthcare as his father is a doctor, his mother is a nurse and he works in digital health.
"I want to raise awareness and funds for a charity where it's people you interact with, with those who could help family and friends in the local Essex area if ever they were in need," he said. Mr Campbell added he has been "really overwhelmed by the support", with over £1,800 being raised.
"If people are watching me at the marathon, I want them to cheer as loud as they want and search online for my JustGiving – it's world's fastest shrimp," he added. He said he plans to end the marathon with a post-race seafood platter, celebrating with his triathlon club, family, friends, and members of the charity.
"On the day I definitely will be having some seafood – I'll maybe have some prawns because they're a bit bigger than shrimp," he added. Pascale Harvie, president and general manager of JustGiving, said: "Jamie's challenge is a brilliant example of the creativity and dedication that makes the JustGiving community so special.
"We're proud to support fundraisers like him who push boundaries to make a real difference, and we can't wait to see how he gets on!" Mr Campbell's fundraising page can be accessed here.
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