Man using fridge to train for marathon stopped by police

Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Police in Britain stopped a runner they spotted with a refrigerator strapped to his back, but they discovered he wasn't fleeing from a crime -- he was training for a marathon.

Daniel Fairbrother said he was practicing running with a fridge strapped to his back in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, when he was stopped by officers.

"They put their blue lights on, held up the traffic and stopped me to find out what on earth was going on. Understandably they had not seen anything like it before," Fairbrother told the BBC. "One police officer wound down his window and said: 'You understand we've got to stop you, is that a fridge on your back?'"

Fairbrother explained the fridge, which he dubbed Tallulah in tribute to a scene from the film Cool Runnings, was helping him train for the London Marathon, where he will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon carrying a household appliance (white goods).

The current record, set by fellow Briton Sam Hammond in February 2023, stands at 2 hours, 4 minutes and 13 seconds.

Fairbrother said getting stopped by police was "embarrassing," but he understood why he seemed suspicious.

"I would expect the police to do their job and check on someone running about with a fridge. If I got pulled over another 10 times I wouldn't be annoyed," Fairbrother said.

A Hertfordshire Constabulary spokesman confirmed the encounter.

"We would like to wish Daniel all the best with training for the marathon," the spokesman said.

Fairbrother's record attempt is also aiming to raise money for charity group Diabetes UK.

"It's in support of my best mate Sam, who's a Type 1 diabetic. I tried to undertake a challenge last year which didn't go as planned, and I promised to come back bigger and stronger," he said.