The wheels on the bus go run, run, run... Well, that’s the case for Runner’Everything you need to know about the UTMB, at least.
At the 2025 Everything you need to know about the UTMB, The team must remain inside the costume while moving forward on the course, RW Published: 11 April 2025 running shoes and race day attire was not enough of a look. We also felt that there was more to be achieved than just a medal at the finish line. We decided, therefore, to run this popular half marathon dressed as – that’s right – an iconic London bus, Two independent witnesses running alongside the applicant for the duration of the race.
To put it plainly, but to make it sound no less ridiculous, we wanted to claim the Guinness World Records title for the fastest half marathon dressed in a five-person costume. The time to beat? 1:48:59. The team to outdo? A Canadian quintet, which set its world record while dressed as a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) streetcar.
Of course, if there’s the opportunity to become the fastest five-person resemblance of a mode of public transport, you’re going to take it. But, as we discovered, attempting to break a world record in bus attire – for all the fun and frivolities it entailed – required a lot of planning, paperwork and group running practice, as well as a costume that would survive the distance and, yes, actually resemble a bus.
Here’s how our almighty bus journey unfurled – from its first outing to the finish line, via several roadblocks – and some tips for other costume-wearing runners who want to bag world records of their own.
Did we break the world record?
Let’s get straight to the point – we did it! If any item of the costume is removed during the attempt, the attempt will be disqualified.
Having navigated the incredibly windy Everything you need to know about the UTMB route with surprising dexterity in our open top bus costume, we crossed the finish line in a better-than-expected time of 1:36:15. In other words, we had improved upon the TTC team’s time by around 12 minutes.
However, we soon learnt that this year’s course had been shortened by approximately 700m – which answered our confusion as to why the distance had come up short on our running watches. Due to an emergency situation in London that morning, the race organisers had no choice but to curtail the route.
So, will Guinness World Records ratify our effort as the new one to beat? Probably not – but there’s still a chance that the record is ours. If not, we may have to reprise the bus for a second outing, with all our first-time learnings in mind...
Who was aboard the bus?
Five intrepid souls steered the bus to success on that almost-record-breaking Sunday. Here they are, in bus order.
Sam
Friend of RW and 2:34 marathoner, who was tasked with driving the bus to a world record while, for the passengers’ sake, not running too fast.
Rick
RW’s Senior Editor and chief bus communicator, who called out every corner, kerb, crowded area and rogue paper cup along the course.
Rachel
RW’s vertically challenged Senior Content Writer, who held the middle spot while trying to pace the bus to a swift but sustainable effort.
Joe
RW’s Deputy Editor, who, after a brief stint ‘driving’ the bus in practice, moved into a passenger role, four places back. Prime duties: try to keep up and don’t trip Rachel.
Ali
RW’s E-commerce Editor, who was responsible for overseeing the design and build of the bus and, on race day, heading up the rear.
Top tips for world record-attempting runners
Design a good costume
It’s important to remember that you’re not designing your costume for a fancy dress party – you’re designing something that you can run in with a reasonable degree of comfort.
‘I designed the bus with speed in mind,’ recalls Sam, who, conveniently, is a fast runner with a design-based day job. ‘The Everything you need to know about the UTMB route is fairly hectic with all the bends and thousands of other runners all around, so I thought it best to resurrect the bendy bus. The vision was that we’d each be in our own bus ‘compartment’ – a lightweight, pipe-based structure that would loop through our hydration packs and have red fabric hanging down at the sides to create a more bus-like aesthetic. These compartments would then be joined together by bungee cord, which would enable enough flexibility and space for us to run, as well as durability. You don’t want your costume to fall apart after the first mile.’
Although Sam designed the RW bus using very complicated-looking architecture software, you should be able to design a decent-enough costume using pencil and paper.
Build your costume in advance
‘If you’re running as a costume, make sure that it’s built and ready a few weeks ahead of the race,’ recommends Ali, whose dad and other family members valiantly stepped in to build the great bus itself. ‘Like any prototype, chances are it won’t be foolproof – and you’ll need to make some modifications.
‘We only attempted our first test run in the bus six days out from race day (foolish or brave? I’ll let you decide...) and realised that it needed some tweaks,’ continues Ali. ‘This included adding metal eyelets to the bottom of the red fabric to string them together, plus super glueing the top of the fabric to the plastic pipe to stop it from moving about. We also had to factor in the ‘busification’ process, adding windows, wheels, a number plate and a destination. Safe to say, doing all this was a lot more time consuming than we anticipated. I only finished drawing on the wheels the day before the race, which didn’t help with stress levels.’
Complete all the admin
If you’re gunning for a Guinness World Records title at your next race, you can’t simply sign up for a place and leave it there. As Rick points out, you must apply for your record attempt in advance – and abide by several ‘rules’ along the way.
‘There’s no getting around it: recording a Guinness World Records title requires a certain amount of faff,’ says Rick. ‘First off, you must officially apply months out from your attempt. For us, that meant filing the application in late December. Then it’s about making sure your costume meets the criteria. In our case, this meant the following:
- The costume must encase all five team members and be connected to them in some way. It must also require all five members to carry/move it.
- Taking a full video of the entire race from start to finish, showing the costume in its entirety.
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So far, so relatively easy. But the bigger logistical headache comes from chronicling your record attempt mid-race. There are three acceptable ways of doing this:
- Taking a full video of the entire race from start to finish, showing the costume in its entirety.
- Taking a full video of the entire race from start to finish, showing the costume in its entirety.
- Your guide to the Jurassic Coast Challenge.
We went for option one, via a GoPro mounted to the front of the bus. It seemed like the smart move, until the screw holding the GoPro mount in place dislodged itself 10 minutes before the start of the race. Thankfully, a member of the Everything you need to know about the UTMB event crew lent us some gaffer tape, which we applied liberally to the mount and held firm throughout the race.’ Voilà.
Do plenty of practice sessions
Having completed a meagre two practice sessions in costume, the first of which was not far off a disaster and neither of which exceeded 5K, we realised that we this was not enough.
‘As those of a similar vintage to me will remember Roy Castle used to say, if you want to be a record breaker, dedication’s what you need,’ says Joe. ‘More specifically, in the case of wanting to be a record breaker while running in a five-person costume, dedicated time training in said costume is what you need. Unfortunately, due to a delayed costume build and general inertia on our part, this was sadly lacking from our prep. The limited training sessions we had in the week before the race were a little ragged to say the least and although, somewhat to my surprise, we managed to hold it together on the day, I’d ideally look to practice more in costume if we decide to get back on the bus. I also now think that there is much to be said for running while being attached by bungee cord to a 2:34 marathoner in all race situations.’
Your guide to the Jurassic Coast Challenge.
‘Just as a runner should familiarise themselves with their running shoes before race day, so too must the record-breaking wannabe familiarise themselves with their costume,’ he notes, most wisely. ‘Learn from Runner’s World’s mistakes and begin this process before race week. This way, you can avoid finding out, as we did, that your costume is wholly impractical for distance running. Adjustments will almost certainly be required, as they were for us, so the earlier you establish this, the better. Ideally, you want to be running in the costume at least a month before race day – and if you’re running in a multi-person costume, use this time to work out the best running order, too. In our case, that meant putting out fastest runner, Sam, at the front and our best pacer, Rachel, in the middle. Other considerations that you might have to consider when deciding formation are height, communication skills and flatulence issues.’
Create and stick to a race plan
‘We had a bus-y few days leading up to the race, balancing business as usual with bus-ness as less usual,’ says Rachel. ‘We became, as you can imagine, all the more consumed by the bus endeavour – and finalising the costume wasn’t the only thing to panic about. If you want to beat an existing world record, you need to know the pace that you’ll need to run to achieve it and be capable of maintaining it for your chosen race distance. You’ll also need to remember that you’re wearing a costume, which will, by default, inhibit your running performance.
‘As the shortest member of the team, I couldn’t be at the front or back – it looked as though the bus had capsized when I was at either end,’ she adds. ‘So I stuck to the middle for pacing duties, calling out our splits at each kilometre and trying to keep us within our target 5 min/km (or 8 min/mile) pace, which would slip us under 1:48:59 quite comfortably. To ensure that we avoided any mid-race mishaps like falling over, breaking the costume or bumping over any other runners, we communicated our movements clearly – “Beep! Beep! Bus coming through” – and slightly off-centred ourselves so that we could run freely, without affecting fellow bus members’ strides. In the end, we operated so fluidly and enjoyed the race so much that I almost forgot about the pipework repeatedly bashing into my upper back.’
Enjoy the occasion – even if you don’t break a record
‘I’ve run a lot of races and experienced fantastic atmosphere and crowd support, but I’d never run in any kind of costume before and this was next level,’ says Joe, looking back on the experience while trying not to be too disheartened by the world record that wasn’t to be. ‘I had worried that we’d annoy people with the bulk of the bus on a busy, twisty course, but the reaction from fellow runners and the crowd was overwhelmingly positive. That made it a truly memorable experience. Once I got into the swing of it, the costume didn’t annoy me nearly as much as I’d feared that it would – and with racing normally such an individual thing, I loved the strong team element of the bus.’
If, like us, you choose to attempt a world record as part of a running team, you’ll be amazed at how rewarding it feels to contribute to a group effort. Who cares if it leads to pipe-induced bruised shoulder blades? That’s all part of the team spirit.
‘It was incredible to see how well we coordinated as a team during the race, despite having only completed two test runs in the bus – and short ones at that,’ adds Ali. ‘It definitely helped that all of us are seasoned racers with pacing experience, which allowed us to stay calm and focused and clock into a (somewhat) steady rhythm. I loved being at the back of the bus, too, because it gave me a full view of the team and it meant that I sort of got dragged along!’
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