Rob Forbes is a world record-holder… and it’s no ordinary record either.

That’s because the Cirencester Athletics Club runner has just set the fastest time for pushing a double buggy around a road marathon, completing in two hours, 43 minutes, 11 seconds. The previous best was three hours, 22 minutes.

The race was the Yeovil Marathon and dad-of-four Forbes had two daughters as well as Peppa Pig in his buggy!

Forbes has been a very good distance runner for many years now and admitted some disappointment to finishing ‘only’ second behind Tavistock AC’s Adam Holland, who completed in a time of two hours, 32 minutes, 40 seconds.

Nevertheless he was delighted with his achievement and said: “It’s 100 per cent a world record but will need to be ratified by Guinness Book of World Records.

“I only logged the attempt last week and it takes them up to 60 days to process I think. It’s the world record for pushing a double buggy, there is faster time for a single buggy.

“My three passengers were Ophelia (aged two and three quarters), Heidi (18 months) and Peppa Pig.

“The two girls probably weigh a combined 25kg and then there was all the snacks and toys I had to take to keep them happy.

“Ophelia talks incessantly, including the dreaded ‘Are we nearly there yet from mile two’, so I got lots of ‘You’re not listening to me daddy’ and ‘Are you talking to me daddy?’.

“She was also heckling me to go faster and shouting ‘beat ya’ when we overtook people on the half marathon which started later!

“There were various dummy SOS’s and Peppa Pig almost went overboard but the girls did me proud.

“Every time I had a gel I showered them with a handful of breadsticks to keep them happy. They also had a little horn they could hoot at runners as we went past.

“I had to promise them lots of ice cream at the finish to get them through but to be fair they didn’t cry once and seemed to enjoy it.

“I only had one dirty nappy scare when Ophelia told me her sister had done a poo about three miles in but she passed the sniff test so I ploughed on! Ophelia wasn’t impressed with second place though!

“I’ve always wanted to go for various buggy running world records having done quite well in a few races pushing either the single or double buggy – including a couple of wins – but never got around to it for one reason or another.

“Therefore, with the girls getting heavier by the day and definitely no more children on the way, I decided it was now or never to break the record.”

Villagers in Coln St Aldwyns just outside Cirencester, where Forbes lives, will not be surprised by his latest achievement.

When the ecologist spoke to The Local Answer at the end of last year he admitted that he had no structured training regime and that he fitted his hobby around his full-on work and family commitments.

He said at the time: “I have to fit any training runs in when I can. We’ve got a single baby buggy and a double baby buggy and I will quite often go out with the kids sitting in them.

“I have to give them incentives like trips out for ice cream or chips at the pub but it does work!”

It certainly does!