A runner with multiple sclerosis has broken the half marathon record for a person with the condition after finishing in 1:30:46.
Chris White, 42, from Luton in Bedfordshire, beat the previous Guinness World Record of 1:33:08 at the Brighton Half Marathon on 1 March, despite being told to avoid intense exercise after his diagnosis.
White was diagnosed with MS in 2017 after feeling a sensation in his legs which he described as feeling “stuck in the mud”.
The sport has since given him time to process his diagnosis and “deal with” his own thoughts.
White told the BBC he has extreme fatigue, numbness and balance issues as a result of the disease.
Immediately after his diagnosis, White was told to “avoid intense exercise” and put on three stone, or 19kg, in the two years that followed.
He started running in 2024 after listening to a radio interview about someone with MS doing a half marathon and has since completed more than 15 half marathons.
The race covers 13.1 miles, or 21.1 km.
At the end of 2025, his partner suggested he try to break the world record for the fastest half marathon run by a person with MS, as his personal best at the time was only six minutes slower.
White self-isolated for two weeks before the race to ensure he did not pick up an illness, as his immune system was “deficient” due to his MS.
After finding out he had broken the record, White said he was “stunned” and “felt very proud”.
The record is pending official certification by Guinness World Records.
White will now take on the 2026 London Marathon in April to raise funds for the MS Trust, which supported him when he was first diagnosed.
It will be his first full marathon, and he has been increasing “strength training” and visiting an osteopath to prepare for the full distance.
White said he did not think “many people really understand what it [MS] is or the impact it can have” and said he wanted to run for the MS Trust to help “raise the visibility and awareness” of the illness and the work the trust does to help people.
