A man born without any limbs has completed the Belfast City Marathon on a skateboard.
Chris Koch form Alberta in Canada completed the course in a time of 4 hours 57 minutes in what was his 14th marathon.
Chris said that while it was the wettest marathon he has completed, the people of Belfast certainly made up for it.
Read more: Belfast City Marathon 2023 results: Official times from this year's race
"That was the most rain that I have ever seen in a marathon," he told Belfast Live.
"I find the roads here in Ireland and the UK can be a lot rougher to what I am used to in North America which makes it a little more challenging but the hills weren't too bad in this one so it was good."
Chris first showed an interest in completing marathons in 2016 when he and his then girlfriend signed up to do a marathon relay in LA on St Valentine's Day.
However, the organisers wouldn't let him compete using his longboard.
"I said to them that if I had legs, I would run the thing but it was a hard no. I then got speaking to the race organiser of the Calgary Marathon and she said that they looked at cases on an individual basis and saw no reason why it would be an issue for me to do the Calgary Marathon.
"I called her up and I said that instead of doing half, I would like to do the full marathon and so I did my first full marathon in 2016 and I have done at least one a year since then."
Chris compared his love of marathons to an addiction and said that it is an excuse to travel the world.
"I was soaking wet by the end which was uncomfortable but there was one little girl about mile 18 about 6 years old and she was shouting 'you can do it, all you have to do is believe in yourself' which was pretty cute as that is one of those points in the race where you can get pretty tired.
"All along the course there is people cheering you along but that little girl in particular stood out. I have been to Dublin a couple of times and the people are great but I found Belfast as a whole to be even more welcoming, hospitable and kind."
Chris spent three days in the city and has travelled to Dublin where he met up with his mother who is a flight attendant to show her around the city.
"One of my biggest regrets was not staying in Belfast longer," he added.
"A side purpose for doing these marathons is to encourage people. Anyone can complete a marathon as the human body is capable of doing some pretty amazing things. Your mind can get in the way and tell you that you are too tired or too sore but the body can withstand it all."
Chris finished by thanking the organisers of the marathon for allowing him to participate and said that he looks forward to returning to take part again.
READ NEXT:
Belfast City Marathon: Great images of the masses hitting the roads
Belfast City Marathon: Thousands of runners and walkers take to the streets
Belfast student taking on a marathon challenge in memory of her 'beautiful mummy'
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
