I just sent this email to Guiness World Records:
Hello,
There has been some hot debat on LetsRun.com about one of the athletes setting records for most marathons run in a year. Although the debat has been centered around whether or not she actually ran all the races in their entirety, there has been an interesting spin off.
What is the Guiness World Records stance on running vs walking? If someone is walking more than 50% of the distance, or maybe the entire way does this count?
Also, on records such as these as their any scrutiny by Guiness World Records as to marathons logged? Or do you work on the honour system?
I realize keeping track of all these records would be difficult and having boots on the ground for any or all these longer records might be near impossible without an unlimited budget. However I'd be curious if record setters and possibly their own observers must provide statutory declarations or provide some kind of detailed information that might weed out people who cut corners.
I look forward to hearing from you.