On April 25, U.S. Army Capt. Travis Chewning-Kulick, who leads the 752nd Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), smashed through the previous record for running a mile while wearing his unit's protective bomb suit.
EOD techs are assigned the job of rendering safe unexploded ordnance, ie, defusing bombs on the battlefield. The bomb suit itself weighs in at fifty pounds.
"I am an avid runner, I run all the time. That gets your fitness up, but knowing what it feels like to have that helmet bouncing around on your head or the giant plate in the front is probably one of the most important things," Capt. Chewning-Kulick said.
Noting that he got a little excited and started off too fast, the EOD officer apparently dug deep and found some inner reserve to not just get him across the finish line, but to break a Guinness World Record. The previous record-holding 1-mile time was held by Mark Gibbs, who ran it in 7 minutes and 24.21 seconds back in 2017.
With 1st Sgt. Edwin Vazquez, running alongside him to help him keep pace, Capt. Chewning-Kulick crossed the finish line at 7 minutes and 4 seconds, with the cheering of a few hundred soldiers and spectators.
"I think this sends the message that fitness matters. If you stay at peak performance, then you can not only do things like this, but you can go out there and do an excellent EOD job," Vazquez explained.
Capt. Chewning-Kulick's record-breaking run is currently being verified by the Guinness World Records, a process which is expected to take about six months.
