A man has stunned onlookers by completing a marathon while chain-smoking cigarettes.
Now, we all know the health implications associated with smoking. The bad habit is linked to a variety of health issues, with the CDC stating that smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and costs the United States billions every single year.
With that being said, you'd probably expect marathon runners to be some of the most health-conscious individuals out there. And, for the most part, that is true. Then there's this guy...
As reported by the Daily Mail, a runner known as "Uncle Chen" has gone viral on social media after completing a 42-kilometer (26 miles) marathon while chain-smoking cigarettes.
Photos of the 50-year-old runner were recently shared across social media showing Chen competing in the Xin'anjiang Marathon in Jiande, China.
But in every image, the runner can be seen lighting up a cigarette or puffing away as he ticks down the miles.
Now, you may think that Chen's nasty habit would result in him coming dead last in the endurance event - but he actually ranked alright. According to the Mail, Chen came 574th out of approximately 1,500 runners - crossing the finish line with a time of 3:28:45.
According to the running website RunTri.com, that's around 25 minutes faster than the average time it took runners to complete the Boston Marathon in 2019.
Unbelievably, this is not the first time Chen has achieved such a feat. Per Canadian Running Magazine, Chen also ran and completed both the 2018 Guangzhou Marathon and the 2019 Xiamen Marathon while puffing away.
His 2018 time reported clocked in at 3 hours and 36 minutes, and he crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 32 minutes in 2019.
The Mail also suggests that there is evidence online that points to Chen also competing in 50km ultramarathons.
Although not a lot is known about Chen outside of China, it has been reported that he gained the nickname "Smoking Brother" from fellow runners after taking part in an event in Hangzhou city back in 2017.
Over on Twitter, some users have branded Chen a "hero" or a "legend".
As it stands, there doesn't appear to be any rules in place that prevents competitors from smoking as they take part in a race.
So, well done to Chen... I guess.
