Morris dancer to tackle marathon record with bells on

A Morris dancer from Hastings is hoping to break a world record when he runs Sunday's London Marathon - and he said he was going to do it with bells on.

That is because folk dance enthusiast Rhys Boorman, 33, is taking on the 26.2-mile course in full Morris garb, with an eye to beating the previous best time set by someone in similar dress of three hours, 48 minutes and 28 seconds.

But there is one problem, he forgot to inform the people at Guinness World Records of his idea by the specified February deadline.

"So I'm having to ask spectators along the route to photograph me to prove I really did run the whole race," said Boorman.

However, he added that he did have a good excuse for failing to inform adjudicators of his race day plans in time.

"My attention was elsewhere as my wife Rhiannon gave birth to our second baby, Eleri, on the very same day as I was meant to let them know," said Boorman.

"She arrived two weeks overdue, so I missed the deadline."

But Boorman, who hopes to complete the route in under three hours, added that it should not be hard for anyone with a camera to spot him as he goes.

"I'll be running in my home side Hastings RX Morris kit of white trousers and white shirt, while waving white hankies and, of course, wearing bells.

"So everyone should be able to see and hear me coming."

Nancy Hsu, from Worthing, is running the marathon in honour of relatives who have muscular dystrophy (MD), a genetic condition causing progressive and irreversible muscle weakness and wasting.

"When I moved to England from Australia to be closer to family, I saw first-hand how my uncle Keith and nana Sylvia live with the challenges of MD," she said.

"Despite their physical limitations, they live life to the fullest and it made me realise how much I take my own mobility for granted and how much more I should push myself."

It also inspired her to sign up to run in aid of the charity Muscular Dystrophy UK (MDUK).

"My uncle and nan's response was 'Oh, you're doing it for us', which was a heart-melting moment, and one which continues to motivate me every step of the way," said Hsu.

Having previously only been able to run "a few miles, at most", she has trained hard to participate in two half marathons so far.

"And now I'm really excited to be part of an iconic event like the London Marathon, and to raise more awareness for the great work of MDUK," added Hsu.

When Faye Mullins, 20, from Haywards Heath, runs on Sunday it will mark a stark contrast from where she was physically just 12 months ago.

"I was diagnosed with cancer two months after turning 19, which brought my world crashing down," she said.

"I was a teenager working on my gap year and deciding on what university to go to, when everything suddenly went out of control."

A county cricket veteran, Mullins was unable to participate in her favourite sport for the whole of 2025, but started rebuilding her fitness while in remission.

And, shortly afterwards, she fell in love with running.

"I officially caught the running bug and I can't get rid of it," said Mullins, who is raising vital funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

"It became my escape and my main way of relearning to trust my body, which I'd started to hate.

"I became strong again, and to be able to run a marathon less than a year since chemotherapy is something I never thought was possible," she added.

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