Jones Day junior lawyer runs marathon in a three-piece suit

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By Katie King on

Tells Legal Cheek he woke up at 5am every day to fit in morning run

A 25-year-old lawyer working at Jones Day’s Sydney office has broken a world record this week, namely that for ‘Fastest marathon in a suit’.

Associate Matthew Whitaker completed the Blackmores Sydney Marathon — which passes sites including the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House — donning a suit and tie. It took him two hours, 44 minutes and 29 seconds.

Whitaker was one of two people attempting to break the ‘running in a suit’ world record that day. His competitor, Oxford graduate Michael Tozer, was beaten to the title by just six minutes and 29 seconds — but he doesn’t seem too upset about it:

(Tozer did clear up that Whitaker ran the race in a waistcoat and jacket too, which he took off after crossing the finish line.)

Working at the commercial law coalface of a 43-office law firm perhaps best known for representing President Donald Trump sounds pretty exhausting, and that’s before you factor in training for a 42-kilometre race. Whitaker admitted to Legal Cheek he woke up at 5am or 5:30am every day to fit in his morning run. But he has no regrets, he says:

Sometimes it means I’m having to function on less sleep than I probably need, but I’ve literally never regretted waking up early to go for a run.

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