As huge London Marathon crowds packed along the Mall delighted in Kenyan athlete Sebastian Sawe becoming the first person to break the two-hour barrier in an official race, Harriet Lucero’s feet were aching as the tough reality of her world-record attempt set in.
Wearing a bright orange Winton Wanderers shirt, football socks, shin pads, studded boots and carrying a ball under her arm, the Salford mum was nearing the halfway point of her gruelling effort to become the quickest woman ever to run the 26.2‑mile distance in a full football kit.
“Everybody calls me stupid,” she laughed. “I completely agree with them. I wouldn’t recommend running in football boots on a road; my toes tell a story.”
Fuelled by pasta cooked by her sister-in-law the night before, Harriet lined up at the start alongside a world record 60,000 runners, knowing she would have to push through the pain barrier to finish the race in under 5 hours to achieve the world record.
It was not plain sailing in the London sunshine. Harriet explained she overcame some “dark moments” midway through the race as she passed by Canary Wharf, but powered through discomfort to complete the iconic marathon in four hours 52 minutes and 17 seconds, raising more than £2,000 for grassroots football club Winton Wanderers and mental health charity Mind in Salford.
“It’s not as much as some people raise,” Harriet said humbly, outlining that she chose to enter through the ballot rather than applying for a charity post. Rising donations continue to take her fundraiser further beyond the initial £1,300 goal.
“I was incredibly emotional crossing the finish line, thinking I had achieved a personal goal but also had done it for the number of people connected with the charity and those who supported me.”
Harriet has now joined one of the most exclusive clubs in sport and has a famous blue and white Guinness World Record certificate to show for it. Her achievement is remarkable given that a few years ago, she was a novice runner recovering from the debilitating effects of Covid 19.
“When I turned 40, I got Covid and it wasn’t pretty,” she recalled. “I couldn’t come down the stairs and felt like I had to get fitter. I went from doing Couch to 5k and then went from there and completed the Manchester marathon.”
With four Manchester marathons under her belt, she flicked through the book of available records and saw one that “just fit.”
Harriet’s son plays for Winton Wanderers, and she has seen firsthand how “truly inclusive” the club are. “They put on fantastic presentations every year for the kids, and it doesn’t matter how good you are, your age, gender, or if you have a disability, they are fantastic. It has been brilliant to raise awareness and a bit of money for them,” she said.
While her ties to the club gave the challenge a personal edge, Harriet said the practical side of running a marathon in a full football kit proved as demanding as she imagined.
For his world-record run, Sawe was wearing Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 shoes that weigh only 97 grams and are made of super-responsive foam that propels the foot forward.
By comparison, Harriet’s black Nike football boots do not absorb shock, jar with every stride and increase the strain on her knees and ankles. After running Salford’s Media City half-marathon in February, she put the boots to one side, explaining that she may have considered giving up on the world record attempt if she had had to face running in them before the big day.
“I carried a football under my arm to get me ready for race day on the last few long runs before the marathon,” she said. “But I didn’t do the boots after the half because if I had a bad day, I would not have wanted to do it.”
Harriet’s world-record success was all the more special as it came on her 43rd birthday. Wearing a ‘Birthday Girl’ tiara on her head to mark the occasion, she was wished many happy returns by the crowds lining the sunny London streets.
“The crowd was so supportive. There were no quiet points, and you pass by famous landmarks everywhere you run. It was so special and the way they lift you is unbelievable. I wore a silly little happy birthday thing over my head and heard people shouting happy birthday. It was fantastic.”
What does it mean to be a world record holder? “It feels unbelievable to have achieved my goal, but it feels even better to do it for the football club, the charity and the people who were behind me; that’s really hit home.”
More information about Harriet’s fundraiser for Mind can be found here, while you can donate to her Winton Wanderers campaign here.
