November 14, 2022
XIN’ANJIANG, CHINA—A chain-smoking 50-year-old Chinese man just completed a marathon a full hour faster than the average man his age. Yes, he’s a chain-smoker and yes, he chain-smoked while running the marathon.
Dubbed “Uncle Chen,” the 50-year-old went viral on November 6 on the Chinese social media app Weibo. Not long after, Xin’anjian Marathon organizers shared his finishing certificate online.
Chen finished the marathon in three hours and 28 minutes.
For perspective, the average 50-year-old male finishes a marathon around 4:34, according to Livestrong.com.
Meaning, Uncle Chen out-paced healthier men by 66 minutes, while chain-smoking an entire pack of cigarettes. He finished 574th out of 1,500 runners.
Uncle Chen was photographed during the 2018 Guangzhou Marathon and the 2019 Xiamen Marathon while burning through a full pack of smokes as well. He finished Guangzhou in 3:36 and Xiamen in 3:32, meaning, his 2022 time was even faster.
Chen only smokes when he runs and he runs 55 miles per training session.
The 50-year-old isn’t even a “regular smoker.” He doesn’t even smoke on a daily basis unless he’s running, that’s when the chain-smoking kicks in. He speculates that nicotine acts as a stimulant while he runs.
Feature Images via Weibo