It is said that the formula for success consists of two elements: idea and execution. Mixed according to very precise percentages: idea weighs 1%, execution 99%.
In the case of David Eliuk, the numbers change slightly: the idea is still worth 1% but the execution tops 120: in this case it is not a percentage but a number, namely that of the T-shirts with which he ran days ago the Hypothermic Half Marathon in Edmonton, Canada. The idea was to set a world record (made official by Guinness World Records) by running a half marathon with the most T-shirts.
David had already tried this last year, setting the record with 90 T-shirts, later unofficialized because the Guinness committee ruled that it belonged to American David Rush who ran a few days after Eliuk wearing 111. By paying for it, the American had obtained the record certification before him.
Planning
When you want to implement such a diabolical plan, you also have to check other details well, such as the place where you will try to beat it. To these you must also add knowledge of how your body will react to the unusual load.
The location, as mentioned, is Edmonton, Canada. The name of the race can easily suggest the conditions in which it takes place: “Hypothermic” is evocative enough to say that it is remarkably cold. The idea of running lined with a thermal armor of as many as 120 layers of fabric suddenly seems less crazy, except for one detail: so many dozens of shirts weigh so much that David’s circulatory system suffered at first, only to adapt along the race.
Result? The record is his, and the time he set-considering the weather and physical conditions in which he beat it-is also respectable: 2h 45′.
The funniest aspect of the story is that last year the record was not attributed to him because he had chosen the normal procedure for his validation, not opting for the faster, fee-based one. Finishing beaten by the American.
This year he was not caught unprepared and even opened a page on Gofundme to make sure he had the necessary funds to pay for the expedited procedure. He did not raise all the money he was asking for ($1,200) but evidently he made do with what came in.
This is also execution. 120% perfect.