A Worcester mother and her three sons cut 1hr 41min off a world record, and a radio producer ran it presenting live. The official chip times for both.

Two Guinness World Record attempts were made at the Worcester City Half Marathon on Sunday 13 September. The official results have now been published, and both are inside the mark.

One was a Worcester family running together. The other was a radio producer carrying a broadcasting kit and a flag.

The family who took 1hr 41min off the record

Alice Johnston and her three sons, Angus, Archie and Ollie, set out to break the Guinness World Record for the fastest half marathon run by a mother and three children. The four finish times are added together to make the total. (Sutcliffe & Co Worcester City Runs, 19 August 2026)

The record they were chasing is 8 hours 8 minutes 52 seconds, set by Corrinna Silver, Isaac Wade, Aidan Wade and Eva Wade in Swansea on 9 June 2024. (Guinness World Records)

The official half marathon results give their chip times as:

  • Alice Johnston, 1:34:53
  • Ollie Johnston, 1:35:14
  • Archie Johnston, 1:35:29
  • Angus Johnston, 1:41:26

That adds up to 6 hours 27 minutes 2 seconds. It is 1 hour 41 minutes 50 seconds faster than the Swansea time.

Bar chart of the four Johnston family chip times at the Worcester City Half Marathon on 13 September 2026: Alice 1:34:53, Ollie 1:35:14, Archie 1:35:29 and Angus 1:41:26, adding up to a combined 6 hours 27 minutes 2 seconds against the existing world record of 8 hours 8 minutes 52 seconds
Chart by The Worcester Times. Source: official results, Sutcliffe & Co Worcester City Runs, published by Titanium Race Timing; previous record from Guinness World Records.
Share this chartFacebookWhatsAppX

The family’s own account agrees. “Alice, Archie, Ollie and Angus SMASHED the Guinness World Record,” their fundraising page says, “knocking over 1 hour and 40 minutes off the existing record completing the race in a combined time of 6 hours and 27 minutes.” (JustGiving, Rob Remembered)

They ran in memory of Rob Johnston, the boys’ father and Alice’s husband, an eye surgeon who died in 2016. The organiser says he died ten years to the week of this year’s race, and that Alice is a consultant anaesthetist at Worcestershire Royal. Rob ran nine marathons in four countries, the family’s page says, many of them alongside his own father, David.

The four wore custom vests reading “Rob Remembered, 1966 to 2016”, which is how they can be picked out in the finish photograph above.

Their appeal for Medical Aid for Palestinians has raised £11,919.42 from 224 donations, plus £2,338.25 in Gift Aid, as at Thursday 24 September. Their original target was £5,000 and the page now shows a £10,000 one. Medical Aid for Palestinians is registered charity 1045315.

The radio producer who presented the whole way round

The second attempt was BBC Hereford & Worcester’s, for a title that does not yet exist: fastest half marathon while presenting a live radio show.

The challenge was set by Steve Cram, the 1,500m silver medallist at the 1984 Olympics, who also founded the Worcester City Runs. (Sutcliffe & Co Worcester City Runs, 11 August 2026) It was taken up by the station’s executive producer, Tim Boswell, who ran carrying his broadcasting kit and a flag mounted on his back.

Rebecca Ward, an official Guinness World Records adjudicator, set out the conditions to the BBC before the race. “The programme itself must be a regular scheduled radio broadcast and the person running must keep presenting,” she said. “They must feature heavily in the broadcast but they can have co-presenters and guests.” (BBC News, 11 September 2026)

The BBC reported that Boswell needed to finish inside 2 hours 30 minutes, and gave his time as 2 hours 20 minutes 2 seconds. (BBC News, 13 September 2026)

The official results record him under race number 7887, in the MV50 category, with a chip time of 2:20:14 and 2:26:24 from the gun to the line. He placed 1,759th of the 2,283 positions in the published half marathon results. Which clock Guinness World Records will work from is not something either the station or the adjudicator has said, but all three readings are inside the 2 hours 30 minutes.

Boswell told the BBC the crowd support was “amazing”. He also lost the flag. “I lost my flag about halfway round,” he said, “and just finished the race with a big metal stick poking out.”

Neither record is official yet, and may not be until January

Guinness World Records told the BBC the radio attempt is going through its evidence review process. Nothing new appears on its website for either title. The mother-and-three-children record page still showed the 2024 Swansea time when The Worcester Times checked it on Thursday 24 September.

That is normal rather than a bad sign. The record page itself carries the line: “Records change on a daily basis and are not immediately published online.”

The organisation’s own guidance is blunter about the wait. “Once we receive the evidence for your record attempt, it can take up to 20 weeks for us to review your documentation and let you know if your record attempt has been a success.” (Guinness World Records, frequently asked questions)

Twenty weeks from race day is the end of January 2027.

What else the results show

Sunday was the third record turnout in a row for the event. More than 5,500 runners completed the half marathon, the 10K and the Young Athletes Run, after 200 took part in Paula Radcliffe’s Families on Track at Worcester Racecourse on the Saturday. (Sutcliffe & Co Worcester City Runs, 16 September 2026)

The winners:

  • Half marathon, men: Thomas Blunt of Shrewsbury AC, 71:57
  • Half marathon, women: Madeleine Oswell, 78:13
  • 10K, men: Luke Jones of Worcester AC, 31:18
  • 10K, women: Lauren Kennard of Worcester AC, 35:12

Both 10K titles went to Worcester AC. All the races were started by the Mayor of Worcester, Councillor Tor Pingree.

“To see an extra thousand participants after last year’s record number was brilliant, and it created a fantastic spectacle,” event director Allison Curbishley said. “Of course, that meant that we needed even more volunteers than usual, but as always Worcester delivered.”

The event has now raised more than £50,000 for its charity partner, Acorns Children’s Hospice, which runs hospices in Worcester, Birmingham and Walsall. That partnership has been extended to 2029.

What it means for you

If you want to run it next year. The 2027 Sutcliffe & Co Worcester City Runs are on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 September. Entries are open now, and the super early bird prices hold until 30 September: £35 for the half marathon, £26 for the 10K, £9 for the juniors and £45 for a Families on Track team. UK Athletics club members get £2 off. (worcestercityrun.com)

The minimum age is 17 for the half marathon and 15 for the 10K. The half marathon is also an England Athletics Age Group Masters qualifying race, but you have to register your intention to qualify in advance, separately from entering.

If you live on the route. The race closes more than 40 city streets for most of a Sunday morning, and two car parks shut the night before. We published the full 2026 closure schedule when the organiser released it, and the shape of it rarely changes much year to year. Our Worcester roadworks and travel page carries what is closed the rest of the time, and parking in Worcester covers the city car parks.

If you want to support either cause. The Johnston family’s appeal is on JustGiving. Acorns Children’s Hospice takes Worcester City Runs fundraisers through its own site.

Sources