You’ve heard of slow runners — but what about a marathon that lasted over half a century?

Meet Shizo Kanakuri, a Japanese athlete who competed in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. It was Japan’s first time at the Games, and Kanakuri had trained hard. But things went south fast.

The race happened in extreme heat. Many runners collapsed, and Kanakuri — exhausted and dehydrated — fainted mid-race. He was rescued by a local Swedish family, who gave him food and a bed to rest. Embarrassed, he left quietly the next day and never told Olympic officials. For decades, he was technically considered “missing”.

But here’s the twist:
In 1967, Sweden invited the now-elderly Kanakuri back to finish what he started. He ran the final stretch — in formalwear — and completed his Olympic marathon with an official time of:
54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 20.3 seconds.

Not the fastest run… but possibly the most patient.