Edmonton man runs half marathon wearing 120 T-shirts, hopes to claim world record

Running a half marathon on a winter day in Edmonton is no easy feat.

Still, Dave Eliuk wanted to step up the difficulty level.

The Edmonton man attempted a Guinness World Record Sunday afternoon by running that half marathon while wearing 120 T-shirts.

Wearing an Edmonton Oilers tuque, Eliuk crossed the finish line at the Hypothermic Half Marathon in about two hours 45 minutes – meaning he’s in line for the record pending official approval.

Edmonton man Dave Eliuk runs half marathon wearing 120 T-shirts on Feb. 5, 2023. (Credit: CityNews/Adam Ziccarelli)

It’s something Eliuk’s been working towards.

Last year he ran the half marathon in Edmonton while wearing 90 T-shirts, which would have made him the record holder. But the attempt took too long to process, and it was beaten by somebody else before Eliuk could officially become the record holder.

Eliuk says Guinness takes about 12 weeks to process the evidence. For a fee, though, that procedure can be sped up to just a few days.

That’s why he never got the record, he says.

This year, he set up a GoFundMe to raise the funds.

“Another individual broke my record and had their evidence expedited and received the record before me,” he wrote on the fundraising page.

“I am hoping there are some people out there who have supported me and want to share in my attempt. Any funds over and above the required $800 fee will be donated to a charity of my choosing at a later date.”

As of Sunday afternoon, the fundraiser had raise the $825.

Coming into Sunday’s attempt, the new record to beat was 113 T-shirts.

Eliuk was one of 425 Edmontonians who took part in the event, which organizers said was the warmest race day since 2017.

It was even warmer for Eliuk under all those layers. And of course, mobility became an issue during his record-breaking attempt.

Other runners were impressed by Eliuk’s accomplishment.

“It was pretty difficult with, I’m only wearing two shirts, so I could only imagine 60 times as difficult with 120,” said runner Abby Paul.

“He was having to keep his arms out, it was definitely not fun for him and mad respect,” said another runner.

“I can’t even imagine,” added runner Yvonne Brown. “I did see him, that guy was hauling it. He did so good. It was like, super impressive.”