50-year-old Chinese man runs 42-km marathon while smoking cigarettes

A Chinese runner known as 'Uncle Chen' has gone viral for chain-smoking cigarettes throughout a 42-km marathon. The 50-year-old Chen finished 574th out of nearly 1,500 runners. He completed the marathon in 3 hours and 28 minutes. The man completed the Xin'anjiang Marathon in Jiande, China on November 6, according to a TMZ report.

Photos of Chen from the event first went viral on Weibo, a Chinese social media app. The event organisers also celebrated his achievement by sharing his finishing certificate afterwards.

That’s bizzare. Uncle chen you gotta love your lungs if you like running pic.twitter.com/eGLwGkkgOL

— Riya (@gulabiglares) November 15, 2022

This is not the first time that Chen ran a marathon while smoking. According to Canadian Running Magazine, he ran both the 2018 Guangzhou Marathon and the 2019 Xiamen Marathon while lighting up.

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The man became 'Smoking Brother' in running circles after a 2017 event in Hangzhou city. Reports suggest the man has also participated in ultramarathons, with one spanning 50km and another lasting 12 hours.

Netizens are divided on Chen's ability with some people saluting his abilities, while others think he sets a bad example. What are your thoughts on this?