The streets of London will become the runway for a team of  Manchester based Monarch crew as they attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the Fastest Marathon in a Four Person Costume at the Virgin London Marathon on the 23rd April.   

The Monarch foursome are running for Monarch Foundation charity partners, Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity) and Macmillan Cancer Support. Leading the team is Captain Simon Gauge, Virgin Money’s second highest individual marathon fundraiser in 2016 and the man behind the idea. Simon is running for GOSH Charity along with Cabin Crew Caroline Brown and running for Macmillan are Cabin Crew Manager Jacq Jones and Captain Steve Day.

The custom made Monarch aircraft was built by a team of apprentices from Monarch Aircraft Engineering specifically for the world record attempt. It is 5m35cm long, weighs 21kg and is made of lightweight aluminium. The engines are powered by a mixture of low carb and high fat diet and the aircraft benefits from some optional extras such as auxiliary fuel tanks where two litres of race day refreshments can be stored.

Speaking ahead of the race Captain Simon Gauge said: “Between us we have 58 years of experience flying for Monarch, but it’s fair to say we never thought we would be crewing a plane quite like this one or attempting a Guinness World Record!

“Training has included regular runs with 5kg backpacks to prepare our bodies for the weight of the aircraft. Needless to say, it’s been challenging fitting preparation in around our flying schedules and our regular 4am starts but we are confident we can beat the current record of 5:25:02.”

Running alongside this team will be six more Monarch employees from around the business. Matt Corkhill, First Officer at Gatwick and Cherie-Louise Thomson, Compliance Auditor at Luton will run for Macmillan; Tom Deacon, Aircraft Engineer at Gatwick and Gary Anslow, Sales Director at Bromley will run for GOSH Charity.

Also in Monarch’s London Marathon line up will be Captain Jerry Greville-Heygate running for Monarch Foundation charity partner Blind Veterans UK and Direct Marketing and CRM Manager Liam Gibson, running on behalf of Parkinson’s UK.

Pauline Prow, Chair of the Monarch Foundation said: “We are so proud of all the staff who are running the London Marathon and raising money for Monarch Foundation charity partners, GOSH Charity and Macmillan Cancer Support. The runners have worked closely with our engineering apprentices who built the aircraft and have trained so hard to ensure everything is ready for a smooth take-off. It’s been a great team effort.

“The possibility of breaking a Guinness World Record is really exciting and we will be proudly watching and cheering for all our runners on the day.”