'Setting world records has become annual tradition'

Setting one world record is an achievement most people would be thrilled with. For Matthew Akpan, securing his first was the start of an "annual tradition" - breaking seven records in six years.

According to the 37-year-old from Leeds, racking up Guinness World Records is not just about earning plaudits, but a way to show "no matter what label or what condition you have, you can be measured to anyone else in the world".

In 2013, Akpan was diagnosed with autism, with speech and language learning difficulties having been identified while he was at primary school.

He first found a love of running during his school years - although it was not until adulthood that he got serious.

After finding Parkrun and joining a running club, he started to "push" himself, he says.

"My life became structured around the running and that's where it was invaluable.

"Without that structure, I don't know if I would have achieved what I had done.

"If the running needs are sorted, then other things are not less important, but a bit easier to manage."

In 2021, Akpan combined his passion for the sport with his other love - WWE wrestling - to set his first world record completing a marathon dressed as John Cena, the wrestler-turned-Hollywood actor.

The challenge, finished in two hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds, was in memory of his father, who died earlier the same year of kidney failure.

"We were very close and we always watched WWE wrestling together," Akpan explains.

"I think my dad would be laughing from the grave that I'd done something like that for him. So I felt like it was a perfect tribute."

Inspired by people's reaction to his achievement, Akpan started using the sporting stunts as a way to raise awareness of autism and other disabilities, as well as funds for charity.

"I thought it was going to be one and done, but it's become an annual tradition now," he says.

His most recent record came last Sunday at the London Marathon, where he set a new time for the fastest man with an intellectual impairment at the event, at 3 hours, 19 minutes and 16 seconds.

Although it was his "slowest marathon time ever" due to the heat, he says, it had been a good experience - although he did encounter new challenges.

"I found the run more difficult because it was like there was a lot of hustle and bustle, weaving in and out of people," he says.

"Any sort of little feeling - and that may be something to do with being autistic - but anything that puts you off unintentionally can be very disrupting."

He was also among the record 59,830 finishers at this year's London event.

Other feats include fastest half marathon dressed as a professional wrestler, gained in Leeds in 2022, and fastest man with an intellectual impairment at a 2025 half-marathon in Newcastle.

He put his wrestling knowledge to further good use, naming the most wrestlers under a minute by theme tune alone - twice - but this niche record has since been broken.

When he is not busy setting records, Akpan works as a teaching assistant at a school for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

His job allows him to share his story as a way to inspire young people to find their hobby or interest "that could push you into the next level", he says.

For him, it was putting on a pair of trainers and getting the miles in his legs.

"Running was always there, it never discriminated against you, it never worked against you," he says.

"It was always about you and seeing how much you could do really and get better.

"It just helped me continue on the path that I knew was right for me."

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