On your marks, get set, knit?
While some New York City Marathon participants will focus on the stitches in their sides Sunday, 42-year-old David Babcock will be paying attention to the stitches in front of him.
The University of Central Missouri graphic design professor holds the world record for knitting the longest scarf — more than 12 feet long — while running a marathon, and he plans to knit his way through the five boroughs during his first NYC Marathon.
“I learned how to knit about the same time I learned how to run,” he told the Daily News, explaining that his bad knees led him to barefoot running.
“I thought, ‘hey this is so smooth. I can do something with my hands.'”
Crocheting didn’t cut it, but knitting was another story. He soon discovered that U.K. runner Susie Hewer held the Guinness world record for the longest scarf knit while running a marathon.
The crafty activity became part of his running routine, but Babcock, who lives in Warrensburg, Mo., didn’t attempt the marathon-knitting combo until he agreed to run the Kansas City Marathon with his admittedly less speedy brother-in-law.
Babcock finished the 2013 race in 5 hours, 48 minutes and 27 seconds with a 12-foot-long scarf and a place in the record books.
Things will be different this time around. Instead of working toward breaking his own record, Babcock is concentrating using his knitting to raise money and awareness for the New York City chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Babcock, who is sponsored by Lion Brand Yarn Company, is not allowed to carry knitting needles when he runs, so he has mastered his own form of finger knitting.
Because he can’t have a large bag with him while he runs, he has crocheted arm sleeves with the right yarn so he can unravel them as he goes.
The New York Marathon scarf will be smaller — he is planning on making it 4 inches wide and about 5 feet long.
But that doesn’t mean it is less complicated. Babcock will be knitting the phrase “I’ll remember for you” in the scarf in honor of the caregivers and families who carry on the legacies of their loved one who have suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
His goal is to finish the marathon in less than four hours, which works out to about nine miles an hour, while knitting.
“My body naturally knows what to do, and my mind is focusing on each stitch,” he said. “It does pass the time really quickly.”
Check out David Babcock’s training blog or visit his fundraising page.
ON A MOBILE DEVICE? CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF BABCOCK TRAINING ON A TREADMILL.
