Emmanuel Bonnier, the man who set a marathon record in pajamas

Emmanuel Bonnier, third at the 175 km Grand Raid de l’Ultra Marin in late June, is enjoying a rise as unlikely as it is meteoric. The new world-record holder for a marathon run in pajamas, with a time of 2:42, the Entente Angevine Athlétisme athlete has no intention of stopping there. His next target is a place on the French team at the 24-hour World Championships in Albi this October. Meet a fulfilled father who combines offbeat challenges with seriously high-level performances.

He didn’t show up in a three-piece suit. Don’t worry. With Parc Saint Nicolas in Angers visible from his window, Emmanuel Bonnier had picked the obvious meeting spot. Wearing a Sunday Runners T-shirt, the group he co-founded to support children, the winner of the Ultra-Trail de l’île d’Oléron 2025 in 7:52 has been working full-time in property management since last February. A weight off his shoulders. “I’m 100 times happier. I have a lot less pressure,” admits the runner, who took up running in 2017 after his brothers Steeve and Yohan set him a challenge. The change of environment has allowed him to tear up the clock and silence his doubters.

The Ligérien’s improbable challenges are all thanks to Guillaume de Lustrac, the world-record holder for a marathon run backwards in 3:25. “I was impressed. It’s crazy that he finished ahead of guys who train for eight months.” That was the spark. “I looked at the records that existed. I wanted to beat the hardest ones.” The idea of covering 42.195 km in a three-piece suit caught his attention. “I did three 30- to 35-minute long runs in those conditions. The first time, I ripped the sleeves,” he recalls. “It was burning.” Clocking just under 2:41, the former sales rep pulled off his challenge in Tours on September 20, 2023. Since then, his benchmark has been erased by Soh Rui Yong in the London capital this year, with a time of 2:39:57. Count on Bonnier to reclaim his crown… in 2026.

One record lost, another found. On May 11, the winner of Tout Angers Bouge 2023 claimed a new world record, this time run… in pajamas. “I submitted my application to Guinness 30 days before the race. Usually, the lead time is three months,” explains the runner, who also holds a 10 km record of 32:21. “I bought what I needed the night before.” Watched by his wife Latifa and his little ray of sunshine, two-and-a-half-year-old Noam, the Trail des Pays de Monts 2025 winner took more than four minutes off Briton Julian Rendall’s time, running 2:42:37 compared with 2:46:46. “It was much less serious, more of a formality.” It was a long run within his preparation for the Grand Raid de l’Ultra Marin (175 km, 1,400 m of elevation gain). We met him eight days before that major objective. Since then, the distance runner, who has nearly 5,000 followers on Instagram has claimed a convincing third place in Morbihan in 15:52:16, beaten only by Gwenael Helleux in 14:59:19 and Romain Louis in 15:20:36.

That performance could open the door to a place on the French team for the 24-hour World Championships in Albi this October. “My ambition would be to break 255 km,” says the runner, whose resting heart rate is 36 beats per minute. Before the year is out, he also wants to break 2:25 at the Valencia Marathon, the fourth-fastest marathon in the world, after clocking an impressive 2:27:46 in the same Spanish city, renowned for its countless parks, last year. Around 9:30 a.m., in sweltering heat, after 45 minutes of conversation, Emmanuel Bonnier headed out onto his favorite playground for a 20 km run at 15 km/h without stopping, before flying to Lyon to meet up with his friends. The challenge his brothers set him has taken an unexpected turn. A magical one, even.

At 37, the Angers runner continues to move up another level. Listening to him, you get the feeling that he is still a long way from reaching his potential and that his best is yet to come. Having discovered the sport just eight years ago, the man behind the crazy challenges dreams of pulling on the tricolor jersey. We’ll know in the coming months…