Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Canadian ran 250 marathons in 2010 COCHRANE, Alberta, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- A Canadian man who ran 250 marathons in 2010 concedes he needed some "nut-ness" to average five long runs a week. Advertisement Martin Parnell, 55, of Cochrane, Alberta, began last year with a Jan. 1 marathon when the temperature was almost 24 degrees below zero, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. On Dec. 31, he ran 26 miles and 385 yards in his hometown. In between, the semi-retired engineer ran more than 6,000 miles, wore out 25 pairs of running shoes and raised almost $250,000 for the children's charity Right to Play. He hit major competitive races in Canada and the United States but also ran marathons against himself or accompanied by school children. An injury in February kept him off the road for more than two weeks, forcing him to an even more punishing schedule once he recovered. Advertisement "I think you've got to have a certain amount of nut-ness in you," he said. "I didn't have a clue if I could do it, and there were times during the year that I though, 'This is it, I'm done.' But I just kept plodding, and here we are today." Flood swimmer faces charges ROCKHAMPTON, Australia, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- A man who decided to take a New Year's dip Saturday in the raging waters of the Fitzroy River in northeastern Australia faces criminal charges, officials say. Police Inspector Mike Curtain said the 39-year-old swimmer not only put his own life at risk but those of emergency workers who might have had to rescue him, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. As it happened, the man was swept downstream from Rockhampton but managed to get to dry land by his own efforts. Curtain said swift-water rescue teams had already been dispatched when the man was reported safe. "What might seem quite a simple issue to him was indeed an act of stupidity and something that could have been a fatality for us here at Rockhampton," Curtain said. Rockhampton in central Queensland 25 miles inland from the coast is experiencing some of the worst flooding in its history. Advertisement Stalin statue exploded in Ukrainian city KIEV, Ukraine, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- An explosion destroyed a statue of Josef Stalin in a Ukrainian city just before the year began, police said Saturday. The statue of the Soviet dictator outside the local Communist party headquarters in Zaporozhe was destroyed about an hour before midnight, but no one was injured, RIA Novosti reported. "Several minutes before the blast, a group of men was walking along the fence. One of them climbed over the fence and hung a bag that obviously had an explosive device inside it on the statue," a police report said. Police are searching for the perpetrators. Millions of Ukrainians died in a famine under Stalin's regime in the 1930s. Parents: 'Kids' CD full of profanities SOUTH BEND, Ind., Jan. 1 (UPI) -- An Indiana family said members listened to a "Kids Favorites" CD their 4-year-old son received for Christmas and were shocked to hear a string of profanities. Christina and Jeff Wilson of South Bend said a relative bought the CD, which bears a picture on its jacket of four young children, for their son, Caiden, at Walmart and they discovered two of the 12 tracks were filled with profane lyrics, the South Bend Tribune reported Friday. Advertisement Christina Wilson said Caiden never heard the songs, titled "Ugly" and "Pump It." Wilson said she called the store and managers assured her it would be removed from the shelves and offered her an exchange. "We are working with our supplier to investigate this matter further, and we encourage any concerned customer to return the item to their nearest store for a full refund," Walmart national spokeswoman Melissa Hill said. The CD jacket lists an inactive Web site and an online search failed to locate the Quebec, Canada, company that produced the CD, the Tribune said.
