Middle-aged runner finishes marathon while chain-smoking throughout race

A Chinese marathon runner chain-smoked for the duration of a race - and still finished in less than three and a half hours.

Nicknamed "Uncle Chen", the serial smoker leant on the old habit while completing the Xin'anjiang Marathon near Shanghai last week, Sky News reported on November 15.

Chen, 50, finished the arduous race in just 3hrs 28mins and placed 574th out of more than 1,500 competitors.

After pictures of Chen went viral on social media site Weibo, race organisers shared his race certificate and confirmed the impressive finishing time.

Chen has also been pictured chain-smoking while tackling other events, including the 2018 Guangzhou Marathon and 2019 Xiamen Marathon.

Local media reportedly noted that Uncle Chen only smokes when he runs.

Chen first achieved fame when racegoers branded him "Smoking Brother" during marathons in 2017.

Most Weibo users shared similar love for Uncle Chen's quirk.

But some pointed out that second-hand smoke could affect his fellow competitors.

By-Shen wrote: "Whoever runs next to him is unlucky."

While user Oriental Mountain asked: "Is this a doping violation?"