Sailor set to make Guinness Book of World Records

CPO2 Chris Fraser displays the flash gear he will run in during the upcoming Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon. His run is a fundraiser for the Esquimalt Military Family Resource Centre. The gear weighs approximately 25 lbs and CPO2 Fraser hopes to set a Guiness Book of World Records marker with the feat. Photo by Peter Mallett, Lookout

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

Guinness Book of World Records here he comes.

Chief Petty Officer Second Class Christopher Fraser is getting ready to set a world record when he crosses the finish line at next month’s Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon.

It won’t be the fastest time though. Instead, he hopes to become a new Guinness Book of World Records record holder in the category of Fastest Runner Wearing a Fire Fighter’s Uniform and Breathing Apparatus.

CPO2 Fraser will run the race as a fundraiser for Esquimalt’s Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC).

His firefighting gear weighs approximately 25 lbs and is protective safety gear commonly worn by Royal Canadian Navy duty technicians, containment managers and boundary sentries for damage control purposes. Running the full distance of 42.2 kilometres will be a monumental challenge, says CPO2 Fraser.

“It’s all about going slow,” he said during a break from his training at the Dockyard Gym. “It’s going to take time and patience and is certainly going to be a difficult challenge for me, but it’s absolutely achievable and if I do this the Guinness Book record will be mine.”

However, he has yet to learn if his application has received approval from Guinness, but says he will run the race either way.

The gear consists of a support harness and an air tank and respirator. He will also run the race in his Naval Combat Dress, minus the baseball hat, and his military boots.

He knows his uniform and flash gear will slow his pace considerably from his previous marathon finish times, which he says average approximately three hours and 15 minutes.

His ambitious goal is to cross the finish line in five hours but acknowledges he would also be happy if he meets the Guinness minimum required time of seven hours.

“I am going to need frequent breaks at all water stations along the way because I am going to be doing a lot of exerting during this race,” said CPO2 Fraser. “I am going to sweat profusely, so it’s going to be all about the pace, and drinking lots of water.”

The idea to run in flash gear came earlier this year when he heard the MFRC had been named a sponsor of the marathon. He wanted to help the non-profit out with their fundraising efforts and discussed some ideas with MFRC Community Engagement Manager Lisa Church.

“We realized that just running the marathon wouldn’t catch people’s interest and I needed a better plan,” said CPO2 Fraser. “Lisa and I discussed running in a full uniform but that has already been done. I came up with running it in flash gear and we both liked the idea.”

CPO2 Fraser, 49, is a late bloomer in the sport of running. He took up the sport in 2005 and five years later started racing 5 and 10km races. In 2010, he qualified for the CAF’s 5K race in Ottawa. He didn’t run his first marathon until six years ago when he entered the Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon.

If you would like to support CPO2 Fraser in his fundraising efforts visit the race website and the link https://raceroster.com/events/2019/19927/goodlife-fitness-victoria-marathon-2019/fundraising-organization/16888