Essex marathon runner hopes to become 'world's fastest shrimp'
He'll be running the London Marathon dressed as a shrimp - all to raise money for charity
A runner from Essex is hoping to become the 'world's fastest shrimp' when he runs the London marathon.
31-year-old Jamie Campbell, from Westcliff on Sea, is aiming to break the world record for the fastest time running a marathon in a crustacean costume during the event on Sunday (27th April).
He explains where the idea came from: "I knew I wanted to add an element of comedy and difficulty to the run.
"It also makes it a bit easier to raise money and awareness for the charity...
"There's also a connection to Southend - obviously Southend's football club is known as the Shrimpers and I live within a stone's throw of the stadium, so it all slotted into place!"
The time for Jamie to beat is 3 hours 13 minutes and 18 seconds, but there are a couple of big concerns he's got for the day: "Firstly weather - I'm a saltwater, or freshwater, shrimp so I can't be getting too hot.
"I'm also hoping it's not too windy and that the costume stays together because to achieve the world record it has to be together when you complete the run."
He'll be raising money for BASICS Essex, a charity that provides immediate, life-saving emergency care to people in need, with highly trained volunteer doctors and paramedics offering rapid response pre-hospital care.
So far Jamie's raised nearly £3000 for the charity - surpassing his £2000 target.
He says it feels great to raise money for the a charity he has a such a strong personal connection with: "I'm really proud to be able to run for them.
"My dad's a doctor and my mum was a midwife, so the NHS is very much engrained into my blood....
"My grandad also passed away a few years ago and he used the ambulatory and emergency services a lot at the end of his life, so I was really pleased to raise money for the charity."