Kinesiology junior James Jasperson’s 6 ½- minute mile in firefighting gear and breathing equipment may have been the most excruciating mile he ever ran, but it was for a good cause—and a world record.
Jasperson’s four laps on the outdoor track at Western’s Wade King Student Recreation Center June 11 raised funds for Four Season Fighters, a non-profit that provides outdoor recreational opportunities to wounded veterans, firefighters and police officers.
Jasperson, a volunteer firefighter with the South Lake Whatcom Fire Authority near Bellingham, wore about 55 pounds of equipment, including steel-toed boots with one-inch rubber soles and a self-contained breathing apparatus mask and tank.
He raised enough to take a double-amputee veteran out on a bow hunting trip, he reported on his Instagram page after completing the run in 6:33.28.
“That may have been the most uncomfortable six and a half minutes of my running career,” he said.
A distance runner on Western’s track and field team, Jasperson already holds the world’s fastest time for running a mile in firefighter gear without the breathing equipment, at 5 minutes, 51 seconds.
