50-year-old runner completes Chinese marathon in under 3 and a half hours while chain-smoking cigarettes, say reports

• A Chinese man has finished a marathon in less than three and a half hours while chain-smoking cigarettes.
• "Uncle Chen" placed 574th out of more than 1,500 runners in the Xin'anjiang Marathon.

A Chinese man has found internet fame after completing a marathon in less than three and a half hours while chain-smoking cigarettes.

The 50-year-old runner, who is known by the nickname "Uncle Chen," placed 574th out of more than 1,500 runners in the Xin'anjiang Marathon last week, Sky News reports.

Chen, 50, finished the 26-mile race in just 3 hours and 28 minutes.

Pictures of Chen went viral on the Chinese social media site Weibo and race organizers confirmed his participation by sharing his race certificate that included his finishing time, Sky News reported.

This is not the first time that Chen has smoked while competing in long-distance running races. According to Sky News, he also puffed his way through the 2018 Guangzhou Marathon and 2019 Xiamen Marathon, once again achieving competitive times of around 3 hours and 30 minutes.

Chinese news site Sohu reported that Chen jokes that cigarettes help him with fatigue, and he runs with one in his mouth so he can easily inhale and keep going.

The local news site said though Chen has become an online sensation, some people are less impressed with his actions, w raising concerns about secondhand smoke and querying if this could count as a doping violation.

Local media also stated that Chen only smokes when running marathons.