London Marathon: a nurse denied the world record for not dressing up

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. On April 28, she managed the feat: cross the finish line of the marathon at 3:08:22 – faster than the record 3:08:54.

However, according to Guinness World Records, the criteria for a nurse's uniform is based on mid-twentieth-century ideas.

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

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 told the Washington Post. (The tights were optional.)

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

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

In a February 19 letter from The Post, the nurse described the criteria as "obsolete and frankly sexist".

"It's my nurse's uniform that I wear to work and it puzzles me not to qualify as a suit for a" fastest marathon nurse uniform, "she wrote, asking to be directed to whoever was in the position to review the uniform criteria.

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Two days later, she received an answer.

In a message to Anderson and reviewed by The Post, a Guinness official explained that his outfit had too much similarity to Guinness's requirements for the "fastest marathon disguised doctor," which included scrubs, a white coat and a stethoscope. Without this "old-fashioned stereotypical dress," Guinness feared that the nurse's outfit was not properly differentiated from the doctor's.

The official also used other categories for comparison: "marathons dressed 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 a hat. "

The note also stated that the nurse's dress and apron were the same for men and women practicing as nurses.

Anderson, who ran to raise money for his hospital service, called the uniform criteria "obsolete".

"I certainly have never seen a nurse wear a dress at work," she said in an interview with Runner's World, adding that most nurses at her hospital wore scrubs, tunics or pants .

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

Although Guinness did not give Anderson the fastest female title, the company seems to have taken her request to heart. Rather than reinforce gender stereotypes, he committed to reassessing his criteria.

"Inclusiveness and respect are values ​​that are very dear to Guinness World Records, and while we must always make sure we can differentiate between categories, it's clear that this title has been around for a long time, because of revision that we will carry out in priority in the future. "Guinness World Records" in a statement delivered to The Post.

Anderson is happy that her race has sparked a debate, she said, 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 the uniform with the hashtag #whatnurseswear."

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