NI scientist completes marathon mission as he breaks Guinness World Record

A Queen’s University academic who broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon dressed as a scientist at the London Marathon said he set himself the challenge of showing that people in his profession can also “be fun and do interesting things.” can do’.

Stephen Cochrane, 36, a reader in organic chemistry and lead investigator of a group seeking to develop new antibiotics, said he was “very pleased” with his official clocking the time of 2:48:51 as the record he was aiming to beat was 2:55:40.

Originally from Eglinton, County Derry and now living in Portadown, a father-of-two who runs marathons as a hobby, told U105 News: “I really enjoy running and as a scientist I really enjoy chemistry so I wanted to use it as an opportunity to to promote my subject.”

“Chemistry in schools is often taught as an enabling subject for students who want to go to university to study medicine or veterinary science, but in reality chemistry is one of the most important subjects responsible for the good quality of life we ​​now enjoy. “

“People have this perception from scientists that they are scattered brains and always stuck in a lab. This was a way to show that we are also kind of fun.”

Stephen was able to call on his scientific training and more traditional methods to power him through the final stretch, when his legs “felt like lead and he realized he had passed his lactate threshold.”

“There’s a lot of science behind running. If you don’t remove the lactic acid from your muscles, your legs can feel too heavy at the end, so I had to implement a specific counting strategy at the 22 mile mark,” he said. .

“Every time I counted to 100 in my head, it amounted to ticking off 1km, so I reached the last kilometer where the crowd carried me to the finish.”

(Stephen receives his Guinness World Record award after the London Marathon)

For those of us entertaining the idea of ​​running in traditional gear, let alone lab gloves or full costume, Stephen had this advice:

“No one is limited. If you do the training, you can complete a marathon. Students sometimes tell me that chemistry is very difficult, but it is very interesting, maybe it’s just the way it is taught.”

While many of us would now be planning a well-deserved rest to celebrate, Stephen will be back in his laboratory at Queen’s University on Monday morning to conduct research discussions with his team, albeit an hour later than normally scheduled due to his rather “tired and stiff legs. ”