Hemel medical engineer will attempt to break Guinness World Record for fastest London Marathon dressed as piece of medical equipment

A medical engineer for Draeger Medical in Hemel Hempstead will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the fastest London Marathon dressed as a piece of medical equipment this weekend.

Kieran Deegan has chosen to run for Against Breast Cancer and after seeing first-hand the devastation the pandemic has caused to vulnerable people and their loved ones, he decided to do something a bit different to help.

He worked with ABC and his employers Draeger Medical UK LTD to create ‘The Ventilator’ costume and will be running on Sunday, October 3, as an Oxylog 3000+ ventilator.

Kieran has chosen to run as a ventilator following the demand over the Covid-19 pandemic and his goal is to set a Guinness World Record for the ‘Fastest marathon dressed as a piece of medical equipment’.

A ventilator is a lifesaving piece of equipment for many different medical procedures and has been vital in saving lives through the pandemic as well as in some breast cancer surgical procedures.

Kieran’s time to beat is 3:48:09 to become a Guinness world record holder in London on Sunday.

On his JustGiving page Kieran posted: "As a medical engineer myself I have seen first hand what devastation the pandemic has caused and feel proud working for a company who have provided the NHS with life saving equipment.

"Out of Draeger’s vast equipment portfolio I feel there is only one choice which would be fitting in our current situation ‘The Ventilator’.

"This will be an extremely difficult task as the marathon distance takes no prisoners, with the added weight and size of the costume I won’t be taking this challenge lightly.

"My chosen charity will be against breast cancer, if you’ve made it this far and feel this is a challenge you would like to support then I sincerely appreciate your donation."

Kieran is hoping to raise £3,000 for Against Breast Cancer, and has already raised £1,309, to help him reach his target visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/runkd.

He said: "Like with any marathon training block there has been a few minor niggles and bumps in the road but nothing that will stop me from lining up on that start line.

"On Sunday I completed the last test event (Kenilworth Half Marathon) in the costume testing out a few alterations."