London Marathon: St Albans' fastest cake sets Guinness record

A runner has become the fastest woman to finish a marathon dressed as a cake.

Anna Bassil, 42, of St Albans, Herts, broke the Guinness World Record at Sunday's Virgin Money London Marathon.

She finished in four hours, 20 minutes and 12 seconds, beating the previous record of four hours and 30 minutes for the title of the fastest marathon by a woman dressed as a sweet food.

She said it was "very strange", but "fantastic" to be the fastest marathon-running cake in the world.

Ms Bassil, a quality assurance manager for a pharmaceutical company, made her cake costume using chicken wire, hula hoops and papier-mache.

"I could not use my arms to swing in the normal rhythm," she said.

"I was quite uncomfortable - and obviously with the weight on my shoulders - but equally there was a number of 'go cake!' cheers as I went around."

She was running to raise money for the charity Save the Children.

She said: "It was amazing to be out with the other runners and to have support out there. It was fantastic.

"At about 17 miles I did not think I would do it, but then seeing family and friends supporting me spurred me on.

"It was wonderful to see all the excited faces of children, shouting 'it's a cake, it's a cake'."

Guinness World Record adjudicator Chris Lynch was on the finish line to verify Ms Bassil's record, along with 29 other records that were broken during the marathon.

The 26.2-mile (42km) race returned to London's streets for its first full-scale staging in more than two years, following the Covid-19 pandemic.

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