During the Kansas City Marathon on Saturday, David Babcock broke the record for . The red, orange, and purple scarf unfurls to 12 feet and 13/4 inches, about five and a half feet longer than the previous record set by Susie Hewer of six feet and nine inches.
Babcock, 41, decided to combine running and knitting three years ago, finding that both activities become tedious.
It sounds awkward, but the graphic design professor at the University of Central Missouri found a way to make it work. He uses sweat-resistant acrylic fibers in place of natural ones and cinches the scarf around his waist with a carbiner.
“I have a very smooth gait,” he told , explaining that he has fallen only once while knitting and running—when he didn’t see a pothole.
This was Babcock’s first full marathon knitting, which he ran in 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 27 seconds for the Alzheimer’s Association.