'It was amazing - but the heat was unbearable': Dudley's 'fastest mystical beast' on a magical London Marathon run that bagged him a Guinness world record

Avid runner, Adam Cotterill, from Stourbridge, shocked crowds after he dressed up as a mythical unicorn to run in this year's London Marathon event. 

The 39-year-old plumber, aimed to break records as he tried for the Guinness Book of Records 'fastest marathon dressed as a mythical creature', in the hopes of raising money for the Dudley Group NHS Charity. 

The mythical idea came to Adam due to his daughter's love for the one-horned animal, with girls even completing the ensemble with a beautiful rainbow coloured mane and horn. 

Talking about the record-breaking idea, Adam said: "I have to say, the heat was the hardest thing by far. By about 15k it became unbeareable. But it was a really good fun and the crowds were amazing, so it was amazing. 

"My daughters came up with the idea, they love unicorns so, being a plumber, I threw together an outfit with some plumbing pipe and some fabric that they use for parachutes."

Adam smashed the previous record for the fastest mythical beast, which stood at around four and a half hours, crossing the finish line in four hours and seven minutes. 

He said: "I would have liked to do it faster, but I just knew that with the costume and the head, I had to take my time so that I could actually finish. It was a real struggle.

"Honestly the London Marathon is such an amazing event, the crows were fantastic, and it was a real feel-good mood. I have done London once before, but this time it was really incredible." 

Adam fundraised relentlessly in the run-up to the event, even managing to get three authentic donated football shirts, including a signed shirt from Wolverhampton Wanderers, John McGinn's Aston Villa shirt and a special shout-out from Birmingham City's Jack Grealish, who donated his signed shirt from Birmingham City's match with Leicester City. 

Adam said: "Fundraising was great. We went out in the outfit and everyone really loved it. I went around Stourbridge as the unicorn and the support was overwhelming. 

"John McGinn donated a shirt which we raffled which we really appreciated, we had a Wolverhampton Wanderers shirt that was signed, and Jack Grealish donated a shirt and shouted us out on social media too. It was really overwhelming."

During the run, Adam was raising funds for the Maternity Baby Loss and Bereavement department of Russells Hall hospital, where he said his wife is a midwife. 

He said: "My wife is a midwife at Russell Hall and she takes care of a lot of the families who are in the Maternity Baby Loss and Bereavement department. 

"Those families go through an awful lot and the staff do a lot of work to support them. I know how important their work is and suport they provide."

So far, Adam has raised around £3,800 for the event, with some donations still being submitted. 

If you would like to donate to Adam's cause, visit the donation website here.