Royal Marine to run London Marathon with fridge on back

A Royal Marine is hoping to set a Guinness World Record by running Sunday's London Marathon with a fridge strapped to his back.

Sam Hammond, 30, broke a world record in February after running the fastest male half marathon with the same fridge, dubbed "Fridget Jones".

Based at RNAS Culdrose at Helston, he is racing to raise money for the armed forces charity SSAFA.

Mr Hammond said he was "definitely nervous" ahead of the longer challenge.

The current record for the fastest marathon carrying a household appliance (white goods) stands at five hours, 49 minutes and 37 seconds.

Mr Hammond said: "I am definitely nervous about the physical exhaustion element of the challenge.

"I'm certain that I'll finish the race, but I don't know how my body will react in the last six miles or so. The furthest I've run before is 20 miles."

He said the fridge, which is strapped to his back, weighs in at 57.9lb (26.3kg).

"I'm used to carrying the fridge for miles at a time," he said.

"It's the time pressure that's really going to make this a challenge. I'm aiming to come in a fair amount under [the record], hopefully under the five-and-a-half hour mark."

Mr Hammond, who will will be running alongside his partner Samantha, credited his training with the armed forces as helping him prepare for the run.

"Royal Marines are very physically driven and it's an extremely demanding job, but the support from friends is always there," he said.

"As a Royal Marine you learn in basic training what the human body is truly capable of, and you realise that you can achieve more than you ever realised."

Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].