Oxford Professor Alexander Betts has set a Guinness World Record at the 2026 London Marathon dressed as an academic. Betts, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for External Engagement, Sport, and Community, and Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs at the Oxford Department of International Development, completed the marathon in 2 hours 55 minutes. Guinness World Records officially recognised the achievement after the race.According to the University of Oxford, he ran in support of Helen & Douglas House, an Oxford-based children’s hospice charity that provides hospice care for local children and young adults with life-limiting conditions. Betts used the race to raise awareness and funds for the organisation, raising more than £3,300. His effort combined the marathon with a fundraising campaign for local families receiving specialist care.
Oxford professor set a Guinness World Record at the London Marathon
Professor Alexander Betts completed the 2026 London Marathon in 2 hours 55 minutes while dressed as an academic. He set a Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon in this costume category. Guinness World Records officially recognised the achievement after the race. Betts is Pro-Vice-Chancellor for External Engagement, Sport, and Community at the University of Oxford, and Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs at the Oxford Department of International Development.He took on the marathon challenge in support of Helen & Douglas House, an Oxford-based children’s hospice charity. The organisation provides specialist hospice care for local children and young adults with life-limiting conditions. Betts’s run also helped raise awareness and funds for the charity, with his campaign bringing in more than £3,300.
Why was the London Marathon important to Helen & Douglas House
Betts ran the marathon to support Helen & Douglas House, an Oxford-based children’s hospice charity. The organisation provides specialist hospice care for local children and young adults with life-limiting conditions. It also supports local families through bereavement services, respite care and practical assistance.During the London Marathon, Betts used his participation to raise awareness and funds for the charity’s work supporting terminally ill children and their families. His fundraising effort ultimately raised over £3,300. The race therefore became a way for him to combine his participation in the marathon with support for a local organisation.
Betts connects his marathon run with Oxford and its community
Betts described the experience as both physically demanding and deeply rewarding. He highlighted the importance of supporting local charities that provide vital care and support to families facing extremely difficult circumstances.His reasons for taking part also connected the marathon with life at Oxford and the relationship between the university and its wider community.He said, “In Oxford, we’ve historically had the ‘town and gown’ divide and this is a way of saying [that] academics are engaged in the community, sport can connect us and, believe it or not, even Oxford professors don’t have to take themselves seriously all of the time.”
How did Betts connect his work, sport and charity through the marathon
Betts’s marathon achievement brought together his role at Oxford, his interest in sport and his support for a local children’s hospice charity. As Pro-Vice-Chancellor for External Engagement, Sport, and Community, he used the event to highlight the role academics can play beyond university life.His position as Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs at the Oxford Department of International Development also formed part of his professional background during the marathon run. The 2026 London Marathon gave him a platform to raise awareness of Helen & Douglas House.
