Athlete humiliates and completes Hannover Marathon on his back!

If you struggle to maintain a healthy life and some day training - or even have trouble starting to move your skeleton - you know there are a lot of people out there that can serve as motivation, see? And we at Mega Curioso have shown some curious and inspiring stories.

Another good example is the German Markus Jürgens, who participated in the last Hannover Marathon in Germany on April 9th, running completely on his back! Did you find little? Because the 42 kilometers were won in 3 hours, 38 minutes and 27 seconds, which meant breaking the record in the “back to back marathon” category. If you already have some intimacy with the race, you know this is very fast! After all, he kept an average pace of 5 minutes and 10 seconds per kilometer - and that is hard even going forward! LOL...

The 29-year-old says the initiative - unconventionally, let's face it - came after a conversation with a friend. This guy just pissed off before a test he was enrolled in and, not to miss, went for a hangover. However, due to the absolute malaise, his speed was so slow that another companion decided to accompany him with his back. Years later, he told this unusual situation to Jürgens, who then decided to really train like this: from the back!

Jürgens takes it all naturally and even guarantees that he doesn't care about the weird looks he gets from other people. “It's so much fun to run that way. I see the faces of the other runners and see what they are feeling in the race. You see very different things on people's faces, and everything gets more intense, ”says the German, who puts the registration number on his back.

Though brave and innovative in his running, he explains that he takes great care. “When I don't count on the help of a friend, I go to the street. I notice when a curve approaches the sidewalk, ”he says, who has completed 36 marathons, three on his back.

In fact, there is even some college research on the method of running backwards. A study at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, for example, argues that this is an efficient way to burn body fat. A survey by Dayton University, Ohio, in the United States, found that running on your back improves performance in the usual sport by about 2.5%.

Jürgens' next challenge will be a 7.6 km swim ultratriathlon race, 360 km cycling and 84 km race, but he says this time it will be in the traditional way: head-on. You can follow more of the athlete's routine through his website or his Facebook page.

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What's up, dear reader? What did you think about the German athlete's achievement? Tell us in the comments section.