'It was incredible': Barefoot runner does half-marathon on frozen Quebec lake

As Karim El Hayani made a mad dash to the finish line, rounding out the half-marathon distance of 21.1 kilometres in just under an hour and 38 minutes,his blistered feet werefrozen andcracked.

In an effort to break a Guinness World Record,El Hayanidid the entirerun barefoot on Lac Beauport, about 25 kilometres northwest ofQuebec City, in 15 Cweather on March 3.

"It was incredible," the 27-year-oldsaid. "It was a great feeling to see all the work and training from the winter pay off."

El Hayani grew up in Spain, before relocating to Arizona's desert climate, and thenmoving to Bromont in the Eastern Townships, about 88 km southeastof Montreal, a fewyears ago.

Barefoot running regardless of temperatures

He's spent most of his life running barefoot, in shorts, in the heat, but the snow and ice are still relatively new for him.

"It's very different, especially for me, who is not used to the cold."

He worked on his technique so that his feet wouldn't linger on the lake, which operates as skating rink in the winter.

All things considered, El Hayani said he thought his feet would be in worse shape than they were after therun.

"I think doing it quickly and keeping my body warm helped me a lot."

El Hayani even tookhis shirt off for the final sprint.

"I love a challenge," he said.

WATCH: What isit like to run barefoot on ice? Watch howKarim El Hayanidid it:

This man ran a half marathon on a frozen lake...barefoot

4 years ago

Duration 3:53

Distance runner Karim El Hayani needed a challenge to get him through the pandemic. He found it in a Guinness World Record.

The avid distance runner said he originally planned to tackle the world record next year, but adapted to the circumstances more quicklythan anticipated.

Still, when he first started running on ice, he could only manage about 10 minutes before he had to stop. He said the hardest part was getting into a safe rhythm on the slippery surface.

But on the day,he was motivated by a small crowd of supporters.

His time? Onehour, 37 minutes and 54 seconds.

"I was very happy. Very, very, very happy."

The Guinness record

The existing Guinness record for the fastest, barefoot, half-marathon on snow or ice was set in 2007 by the Netherlands' Wim Hof, with a time oftwo hours, 16 minutes and 34 seconds.

El Hayani's run was filmed and posted to the social media pages ofLa Clinique du Coureur, an internationalrunning clinic headquartered in Lac-Beauport, so El Hayani can prove that he did the run.

El Hayaniis hoping to hear back from the Guinness organization later this year.

Another runner, Norwegian Jonas Felde Savaldrudrecently ran the distancein just under onehour, 45 minutes and is also awaiting word from Guinness.

El Hayani said Quebec winters can be long and hard if people don't find ways to stay active and enjoy the outdoors. He was back running barefoot outside just two days after his half marathon on Lac Beauport.