Santiago Vergara prepares to run Melbourne Marathon on stilts

Santiago Vergara, 33, plans to attempt a Guinness World Records title at Sunday's Melbourne Marathon. His goal is to complete the full distance on stilts in six hours and 30 minutes.

The Colombian previously completed a half-marathon on stilts in Ballarat in two hours and 34 minutes. He later learned that Jonathan Engels had run faster in Belgium on the same day. Guinness World Records confirms Engels' time of two hours, 30 minutes and 44 seconds at the Kortrijk half-marathon on April 26.

Vergara is now preparing for the full distance. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the men's marathon-on-stilts record stands at just over six hours and 50 minutes, and the women's at just under six hours and 38 minutes. His planned six hours and 30 minutes remains a target, rather than an achieved result.

Each of Vergara's stilts weighs about three kilograms and adds roughly a metre of height. His feet and lower legs are fixed in place, restricting ankle movement. He explains that the hips and thighs bear the movement, while leaning forward places extra strain on the lower back.

A schoolteacher in Bogota introduced Vergara to stilts when he was 14. He moved to Melbourne three years ago and combines training with parenting, biology studies and performances with a Colombian theatre group in schools.

He is using the attempt to raise money for Special Olympics Australia. In future, Vergara hopes to open a stilt-walking school and combine the activity with teaching about nature. He now exchanges advice with Engels, whom he initially regarded as a rival.