Last week I introduced you to Joe D’Amico, a Chicago man who was training for the Los Angeles Marathon by eating only McDonald’s during the 30 days leading up to the race. And sure, he ate from the healthy menu like a woman, but he stuck to his guns and he completed the marathon. Or at least I assume he did, because nobody cares about him anymore, thanks to 400-pound Kelly Gneiting.
Gneiting (pronounced Neat-ing, I pray) is a professional sumo wrestler and he broke his previous Guinness World Record for being the fattest largest man to finish a marathon, at 6-feet tall and just inside 4 bills*. In 2008, Gneiting crossed the finish line at the LA Marathon in just under 12 hours. This time he did it in just under 10 hours, or what I like to call bedroom time. What, I sleep a lot.
“I honestly think I’m one of the best athletes in the world,” Gneiting told the Los Angeles Times last week before the race.
Gneiting’s athletic aspirations don’t stop at running the marathon – he’s only just getting started on his bucket list.
He’d also like to swim the English Channel, win a spot in the NFL playing for the Philadelphia Eagles and hike from the Dead Sea to Mt. Everest. (Via LA Times)
Keep in mind, that’s not a bucket list in the sense of the book/movie. It’s a list of things he wrote on the side of a KFC bucket. Included on that list? Buy more KFC buckets.
As for D’Amico, his McEffort raised more than $27,000 for the Ronald McDonald House charities, which is pretty considerable for 30 days of fundraising. Perhaps he can swing by Washington DC on his way home and give them some pointers.
*He started the race at 400 pounds and finished at 396.2.
