Nashua, New Hampshire, Man is Back to Running Marathons for Special Olympics With World Record Title From Last Year

26.2 miles of running is a feat very few people attempt. That's a race I don't think I will ever attempt.

But that challenge has been nothing over the last two years for Thomas Cantara of Nashua, New Hampshire. Last year, finishing the race was not the challenge for the 603 local, but rather the time it took to accomplish such a feat.

In 2023, Cantara completed the Chicago Marathon in two hours, 36 minutes, and 28 seconds, according to a WMUR article.

That time, which is faster than a six-minute-a-mile pace, was officially the fastest marathon time by a special Olympian...ever.

But his two-hour, 36-minute, 28-second record in Chicago was not enough for the man. Thomas was able to shed off about a minute in this year's Boston Marathon. He finished T20 at 2:25:23 at received $2,500, according to a WMUR article.

The Nashua man has now completed 21 marathons, this of course being his fastest, according to WMUR.

After finishing his fastest time to date last year in Chicago, Thomas knew that the 2024 Boston Marathon held another opportunity: finish faster.

"Just always try to make what I have and make it better every race,” Cantara said to WMUR last year. And he did just that.

According to WMUR, Thomas Cantara reflected back on his enormous accomplishment and world record by saying,

The fact that I came further than I thought I could do is just so much, and the marathon has given me a new look on life in a way, and I want others that think they want to try marathon to see it from my point of view, and accomplish more then they think they can imagine.