A Chinese marathon runner chain-smoked the duration of a race – and still finished in less than three and a half hours.
Nicknamed “Uncle Chen,” the serial smoker relied on old habit while finishing the Xin’anjiang Marathon near Shanghai Last week.
Chen, 50, finished the arduous race in just 3:28 hours and placed 574th out of more than 1,500 competitors.
After Chen’s photos went viral on social media site Weibo, race organizers shared his race certificate and confirmed the impressive finish time.
Chen was also photographed chain smoking while tackling other events including the 2018 Guangzhou Marathon and the 2019 Xiamen Marathon.
He finished the 2018 race in 3:36 and the 2019 contest in 3:32, reported Canadian Running Magazine.
Local media reportedly noted that Uncle Chen only smokes while running.
Chen first rose to fame when running fans called him “Smoking Brother” during marathons in 2017.
Chen is seen taking a puff as he looked to pass a rival runner
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Most Weibo users shared the same love for Uncle Chen’s quirkiness.
But some pointed out that secondhand smoke could affect fellow competitors.
By-Shen wrote, “Whoever runs next to him is out of luck.”
While user Oriental Mountain asked, “Is this a doping violation?”
