He puff puff passed the other marathoners in this smoking run.
A Chinese grandpa redefined smoking the competition after running an entire marathon in just three and a half hours while puffing away on cigarettes. Images of the chain-smoking athlete are lighting up Weibo — the Chinese social media platform — as fans praise his respiratory fortitude.
The 50-year-old runner, known as Mr. “Uncle Chen,” accomplished the breath-taking feat at the Xin’anjiang Marathon in Jiande, running the entire 26.2 miles while either smoking or lighting up a cig, the Mirror reported.
Smoking might seem like it would be at odds with long distance running. However, the tobacco-loving grandpa reportedly managed to complete the event in an impressive three hours, 28 minutes and 45 seconds — a “good” marathon time, according to the Marathon Handbook. As a result, Uncle Chen placed 574th out of around 1,500 runners, as seen in a certificate posted on Weibo.
Meanwhile, images show the marathon runner sprinting along with a cigarette dangling from his mouth like a health-conscious Edward R. Murrow.
Needless to say, social media fans were impressed that he managed to finish the race while smoking — and without running out of cigarettes. However, others accused him of harming other competitors with secondhand smoke, TMZ reported.
This isn’t Uncle Chen’s first rodeo. In 2018, the ciggy-loving marathon man finished the Guangzhou marathon in three hours and 36 minutes.
He also completed the 2019 Xiamen marathon in three hours and 32 minutes, proving that not only is smoking not hindering his performance, but it may actually be improving it.