A marathon runner denied the world's fastest "nurse record" for not wearing a dress

Jessica Anderson was coached for the London Marathon with one goal: she wanted to be the fastest woman to finish the race in nurse attire.

Breaking the Guinness world record was "a challenge, but not quite out of reach," Anderson said, and on Sunday, she managed the feat: crossing the finish line of the marathon 22 seconds plus fast as the three, eight, 54 minutes record.

But according to Guinness World Records, the criteria for getting the nurse uniform are based on mid-twentieth century stereotypes.

Because Anderson wore medical scrubs and not a dress, she was not qualified as a record.

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In February, Anderson, a nurse at the Royal London Hospital for seven years, applied to be considered for the competition. According to Guinness guidelines, she has attached photos of her proposed marathon outfit – the uniform she wears daily: a blue top and pants.

Anderson was "pretty shocked" to learn that his candidacy had been rejected because his outfit "did not meet their criteria". The Guinness guidelines specified "a white or blue dress, an apron and a white cap," Anderson said. The Washington Post. (The tights were optional.)

"It did not seem right to me," she says. "After that, it was too late to submit it again, but I did not want to change outfit anyway."

Although the submission deadline has passed, she has also written to Guinness officials.

In a letter seen by The Washington Post, On February 19th, the Royal London Hospital nurse described the criteria as "obsolete and frankly sexist enough".

"It's my nurse's uniform that I wear to work and it puzzles me not to call a suit for an attempt to" run the fastest marathon in the nurse's uniform, "she wrote, asking to be directed to anyone in uniform the position to review the uniform criteria.

Two days later, she received an answer.

In a message sent to Anderson and reviewed by The Post, a Guinness official explained that his outfit was too similar to Guinness's requirements for the "fastest marathon disguised doctor" (which included scrubs, a white coat and a stethoscope). Without this "old-fashioned, stereotyped outfit," Guinness feared that the nurse's costume was not properly differentiated from that of the doctor.

The official also used other categories for comparison: "marathons disguised as brownies or scouts", which also require "older costumes" and not modern clothing worn by the scout community, and marathons disguised as a chef, requiring "a cook's hat and a big pot while a number of chefs do not wear hat at all."

The note also stated that the requirement for the nurse's dress and apron was the same for the men and women who competed as nurses.

Anderson, who works in the acute admissions unit and is looking to raise funds for his division, called the uniform criteria "obsolete".

"I have certainly never seen a nurse dressed in a dress at work," she said in an interview with Runner's World, adding that most nurses from his hospital were wearing gowns, tunics or trousers.

Anderson asked Guinness to reconsider his request and was denied a second time. Despite everything, she ran the marathon Sunday and – with or without the Guinness Award – broke the record for the fastest time with the scrub.

Although Guinness did not give Anderson the fastest female title, the company seems to have taken her request to heart. Rather than reinforcing sexist stereotypes, he pledged to re-evaluate his criteria.

In a statement released on Sunday, Guinness World Records said: "Integrity and respect are values ​​that are extremely dear to Guinness World Records, and although we still need to make sure we can differentiate between categories, it's clear that this title is already very long, a review that we will carry out in priority in the coming days ".

Anderson is delighted that her race has sparked a debate, but she attributes any change in Guinness rules to the outpouring of public support that she has received.

"Everyone, from nurses to chief nurses to head nurses, joined us," she said. "They made a selfie wearing their uniform with the hashtag #whatnurseswear."