Corporal Sam Hammond, stationed at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall, is attempting to break the Guinness World Record for running a full and half marathon with a fridge on his

back. The aim of the challenge is to raise funds for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA), which provides support to families of Armed Forces personnel.

The fridge, which is named 'Fridget Jones', weighs 26kg, which is the minimum weight required by Guinness World Records for the record attempt to count. Cpl Hammond has already completed the Brighton half marathon with the fridge on his back, with an official time of two hours, four minutes and 13 seconds. He is now preparing for the London Marathon in April, where he hopes to complete the second half of the record.

Cpl Hammond began his fundraising journey in 2022 by taking on the Welsh Three Peaks Challenge while carrying the fridge. So far, he has raised £1,658 for SSAFA on his latest challenge. He said, "I wanted to do something big, silly, and noticeable, so I thought of a fridge. It's a challenge, but it also grabs your attention. SSAFA not only helps service personnel, but they also do a lot for our families. While we're away, we sometimes forget about things at home, but for them, it's always on their minds."

The Royal Marine has been serving for nine years and has been deployed all over the world. He is committed to supporting SSAFA because he knows the charity provides vital support to families when service personnel are away on deployment. Cpl Hammond said, "When I go away, I leave my mum behind. I would like to think if she ever needed it, SSAFA would be there for her."

The current Guinness World Record for running a half marathon with a fridge on the back is two hours, 45 minutes and eight seconds, while the record for a full marathon is five hours, 49 minutes and 37 seconds. Cpl Hammond hopes to break both records with Fridget Jones and raise as much money as possible for SSAFA. Photo by David Dixon, Wikimedia commons.