Most fast bowlers measure their run-ups in metres. Sam Bodoano measured his in kilometres — 100 of them. Beginning at Lord’s Cricket Ground in north London around midnight, the Surrey cricketer ran through the night for roughly 14 hours, still dressed in cricket whites and carrying a ball. His destination was Valley End Cricket Club in Woking, where the extraordinary journey finally ended in the manner required: Bodoano ran in and bowled the opening delivery of a cricket match.
Waiting for that ball at the other end was his father. The 22-year-old from Worplesdon, near Guildford, completed the 62-mile (100km) challenge in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest cricket bowling run-up by a male. The run also raised almost £6,000 for the Ruth Strauss Foundation.
There was more to the challenge than simply covering an extraordinary distance. Bodoano had to carry the cricket ball throughout the run, remain in full cricket whites and then take part in a proper match after reaching Valley End.
‘I've got to give this a go’
The idea began after Bodoano came across the existing record. Speaking to BBC Radio Surrey before the attempt, he explained what persuaded him to try something considerably more ambitious. “I saw a video of the current record holder, who managed 24km (15 miles), and thought, ‘I've got to give this a go’,” Bodoano told BBC Radio Surrey.
The challenge did not finish when his 100km run did. Bodoano had told BBC Radio Surrey beforehand that he would have to go directly into a proper 11-a-side match, complete with umpires and scorers. He also revealed that his father would be the batter waiting to face the first delivery, joking before the attempt that he might even manage to dismiss him.
{{/usCountry}}The challenge did not finish when his 100km run did. Bodoano had told BBC Radio Surrey beforehand that he would have to go directly into a proper 11-a-side match, complete with umpires and scorers. He also revealed that his father would be the batter waiting to face the first delivery, joking before the attempt that he might even manage to dismiss him.
{{/usCountry}}After eventually completing the gruelling journey, however, exhaustion had understandably replaced much of that pre-event excitement. “I'm very tired, I lost a lot of sleep, but it was all for an amazing cause,” Bodoano said after completing the attempt, according to BBC South East.
The cause was the Ruth Strauss Foundation, established by former England captain Sir Andrew Strauss following the death of his wife Ruth from a rare form of lung cancer. The charity supports families dealing with the death of a parent and also funds research into non-smoking lung cancers.
Bodoano's 100km effort would comfortably surpass the existing men's record if it is ratified. Tom Dunn currently holds the official mark after completing a 24km run from Bethnal Green to Wandsworth Common in London in August 2024. Bodoano, however, cannot yet officially be called the world-record holder. A Guinness World Records spokesperson, speaking to the BBC, said the submitted evidence still needs to go through its formal review and verification procedure, a process that can take around two weeks. Until that process is completed, Guinness cannot officially recognise the attempt.
For now, then, it remains a record attempt rather than an officially recognised world record. But few bowlers can claim to have started their run-up at Lord’s, spent an entire night completing it, and finally released the ball 100 kilometres later.