Open Post: Hosted By The Chain-Smoking Marathon Running Grandpa
Most grandfathers would balk at the idea of running in any marathon because once you reach PopPop status, your only job is to hand out candy and drink moonshine on the porch. At least, that’s what they used to do in the movies, but the grandfathers of the new millennium have no time to just sit around. And over in China, a 50-year-old man referred to as Uncle Chen proved that he’s the real Puff Daddy by running a marathon in three and a half hours, all while smoking an entire pack of cigarettes.
The New York Post reports that Uncle Chen taught a lesson to the entire world that it’s never too late to incorporate your good and bad habits into one bad decision. Because most people who smoke can barely catch their breath while walking to the corner store for their next pack of smokes.
A Chinese grandpa redefined smoking the competition after running an entire marathon in just 3.5 hours while puffing away on cigarettes. Images of the chain-smoking athlete are lighting up Weibo — the Chinese social media platform — as fans praise his respiratory fortitude.
The 50-year-old runner, known as Uncle Chen, accomplished the breath-taking feat at the Xin’anjiang Marathon in Jiande, running the entire 26.2 miles while either smoking or lighting up a cig.
Meet "Uncle Chen"
He's 50 years old and ran a marathon last week in 3 hours and 26 minutes…while chain-smoking a pack of cigarettes the entire time. pic.twitter.com/FsJHsPFlyd
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) November 16, 2022
Uncle Chen has performed this death-defying feat before, once in 2018 and another time in 2019. But see, the gag is Uncle Chen only smokes when he’s running. And apparently, his performance-enhancing drug of choice is nicotine because it helped him come in with a relatively good time.
The tobacco-loving grandpa reportedly managed to complete the event in an impressive 3 hours, 28 minutes and 45 seconds — a “good” marathon time, according to the Marathon Handbook. As a result, Uncle Chen placed 574th out of around 1,500 runners, as seen in a certificate posted on Weibo.
Although he has gone viral for this feat, it isn’t without consequences. Many have criticized Uncle Chen for endangering the health of other runners behind him, and my advice to them would be to run faster. Don’t kill Papa Puff Puff’s vibe! If he can come in at 574th place while smoking a pack of cigarettes, there are no excuses for any of the other runners when he literally took off at the start and probably said, “Watch my smoke!”
Pic: Twitter