Marlboro Marathon Man

File this under: You do YOU. The November 6th Xin’anjiang Marathon in Jiande, China might be one of the lesser known marathons in the sport of long-distance running, but the endurance run erupted virally online this week when paradoxical photos emerged of so-named Uncle Chen chain-smoking his way to the finish line. The 50 year old is an avid runner having completed marathons in Guangzhou and Xiamen in 2018 and 2019, respectively. He’s also a devout ultramarathoner and is said to ONLY smoke when he’s running. Which makes for great press and fantastic pictures. And respectable results. Uncle Chen competed Xin’anjiang in 3:28:45; 574th out of 1500 participants. How many non-smokers would be able to accomplish a commensurate feat? Guinness says there is no previous world record in-place for fastest marathoner while chain-smoking, which might be just as well. Online spectators where quick to tear down race moderators and Uncle Chen for promoting such unhealthy life choices. But indeed, there are no rules prohibiting runners from smoking so Uncle Chen wasn’t violating any marathon boilerplate. And besides, he carried his own astray. Now THAT’S thoughtful. Though, to be fair, runners downwind of Uncle Chen weren’t polled as to the instant celebrity’s interesting technique. But for now, Uncle Chen powers away into ephemeral online celebrity smoking armchair critics in the process. A cigarette brand ambassadorship certainly won’t be far behind.