World record as Holly raises charity cash

A woman who is running eight marathons in a year in memory of her brother has made it into the latest edition of Guinness World Records.

Holly Bishop, 23, of Hockerton, ran the London Marathon for Clic Sargent as part of a team of five dressed as the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo.

They ran the race in 6hrs, 17mins 26secs to set the record for the quickest marathon by a five-person costume.

The feat has been included in the newly-released Guinness World Records 2018 alongside other marathon records.

The costume attracted widespread attention and the BBC featured it on the front page of its website during the race.

“It was difficult to run in it because they put tension on it so it kept breaking and we had to keep fixing it,” Holly said.

“But we are really happy. We are in the book and and we achieved what we wanted to do.

“It was an amazing day and we got quite a bit of coverage, which was over and above what we anticipated.”

Holly is running the eight marathons in memory of Guy Bishop, who died in 2014, aged 22, after an eight-month battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer.

She is halfway through her challenge and on Sunday will run a marathon at the Richmond Running Festival — the first of four in five weeks.

Holly has already completed marathons in Bournemouth, London, Manchester and Gloucester and, after Richmond, will run the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham on September 24, the Chester Marathon on October 8, and the Lisbon Marathon in Portugal on October 15.

£35,000 raised so far

Her entry fees for the Richmond and Lisbon marathons are being met by Chloe Grant Estate Agents, of Brant Broughton.

Holly, who is now working as a graduate surveyor in Shropshire, has so far raised more than £35,000 for Clic Sargent.

She met the rest of her five-person team at last year’s London Marathon.

“Two of them thought it would be good to set a world record and get Clic Sargent’s name out there,”Holly said.

“We decided on a Scooby-Doo theme because the charity benefits young kids.”

A wearable version of the Mystery Machine was built and the team practised running in it at the Silverstone race track.

Holly said they held the record because they were the first to do it — and predicted many people would try to beat it.

“When I began this challenge I didn’t think it was going to involve a world record and be in this book which I read when I was little,” she said.

“It’s good exposure for Clic Sargent because they are not a large charity and it’s really important and vital for the children and young adults that need them so to get that publicity and the their name in the book is really good.”

People can donate to Holly by visiting Holly Bishop's justgiving page