Leeds runner Matthew Akpan to attempt new Guinness World Record at Great North Run half marathon
Matthew Akpan will be among the 60,000 people taking part in the Great North Run on Sunday. But it is fair to say that he is one of a kind.
He has made a name for himself by taking on running challenges dressed as WWE star John Cena – a tribute not only to the wrestler but to his late father, Nigerian-born Innocent Akpan, with whom he had a shared love of the sport.
Autism awareness campaigner Matthew, from Crossgates in Leeds, currently holds world records for running the fastest marathon and fastest half marathon dressed as a professional wrestler. He donned the outfit of Cena – jean shorts, regular (not running) trainers and cap – when participating in the Yorkshire Marathon at York in October 2021, achieving a time of two hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds, and also wore the costume in the Leeds half marathon in May 2022, finishing after one hour, 24 minutes and 54 seconds.
Incidentally, he also holds another record for guessing the most amount of WWE wrestlers’ entrance tunes in one minute (21 songs).
In 2013, Matthew was diagnosed with what was then known as Asperger's syndrome – now seen as part of autism spectrum disorder – and hopes that completing these challenges inspires others to achieve.
Now, Matthew is preparing for the Great North Run on Sunday, as he tackles the half marathon route (13.1 miles) from Newcastle to South Shields, hoping to beat his own record and finish in about one hour and 20 minutes.
This time, he will be running “as myself,” he says, having decided not to wear his Cena attire. “I'm trying to make people see that I've already got Guinness World Records for running as the wrestler, but also I'm running as myself. It's not just through my disability you can see me, it's through the whole repertoire of who I am.”
He is also attempting to set an official time for the fastest half marathon by a male with an “intellectual impairment”, a designiation which he qualifies for after also having language and speech therapy in school, he says.
“Hopefully it might not get broken for at least a couple of years, especially under that category. That's my goal there, really, but it's more about just creating exposure and (showing that) we can do anything, really.”
Retail worker Matthew, 36, is a member of the Hyde Park Harriers, which he joined after taking up running for the first time since childhood in 2008.
He acheived his Sport, Leisure and Culture degree from Leeds Beckett University in 2015, which came after a lengthy process of being diagnosed with autism and changing courses, taking seven years from first embarking on higher education.
In the future, he would like to be involved in more media work.
“My overall goal probably would be to get to the 2028 Olympics in LA and be interviewing there alongside other people,” he says.