No dress, no record: Marathon nurse denied record after wearing pants

Jessica Anderson celebrates after finishing the London Marathon. Photo / Instagram

A British woman has been denied a Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon run in a nurse's uniform because she wasn't wearing a dress.

Jessica Anderson completed last weekend's London Marathon in a time of 3:08:22, beating the previous time by 32 seconds.

The London nurse, who works at The Royal London Hospital's Acute Admissions Unit, was dressed in a standard nurse's scrubs of a blue tunic and trousers which wasn't enough for the Guinness World Records judges.

Guinness World Record deemed her record ineligible, she claims.

"I was quite taken aback when I read that they'd rejected my application and I did email them to ask them to reconsider but they said no," she told Runners World.

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Yesterday was incredible!! From having @mayob123 as the best pacer I could wish for, to crossing the line with the man of my dreams @leon_cerrone ❤️ and support from so many wonderful friends all along the way @vonski_ @clairebernwilson @sazzerf @makeitlooknice , lots of friends from @nhsbartshealth plus @daddydarkrdc and the one and only @run.dem.crew I couldn’t have asked for a better day 🙏 Ps. @guinnessworldrecords this is what the fastest female marathon runner in a nurse’s uniform ACTUALLY looks like (3.08.22 ⏰) 📸: @eric_tolentino #rundemcrew #crewlove #marathonislife #trackmafia™ #bartscharity #royallondonhospital #londonmarathon #nurse

A post shared by Jessica Anderson (@janderzzz) on Apr 28, 2019 at 11:57pm PDT

"I get that it's supposed to be a fun thing but their definition is just so outdated.

"Some of the nurses I work with do wear dresses but mostly we wear scrubs or a tunic and trousers.

"I'm sure Guinness World Records don't intend to cause offence but it would be nice if they decided to revise their criteria instead of reinforcing old gender stereotypes."

The current record set in 2015 was run by a woman wearing a light blue dress, a white apron and a white hat reminiscent of Florence Nightingale's famous outfit, The Telegraph reports.

A spokesman for Guinness World Records said: "Inclusiveness and respect are values that we hold extremely dear and while we always need to ensure we can differentiate between categories, it is quite clear that this record title is long over due a review which we will conduct as a priority in the coming days. "