Man aiming for Rubik’s Cube London Marathon record to mark 50 years of puzzle

A 22-year-old hopes to beat a Rubik’s Cube Guinness World Record (GWR) at the TCS London Marathon to celebrate 50 years of the puzzle’s existence.

George Scholey, who lives in Hoxton, London, hopes to achieve the GWR for most rotating puzzle cubes solved while running a marathon, which currently stands at 420.

If successful, this will be Mr Scholey’s third GWR, with previous accolades including the most puzzle cubes solved while riding a skateboard (500) and most puzzle cubes solved in 24 hours (6,931).

He said that as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Rubik’s Cube, he wanted to do something meaningful to celebrate the milestone, as well as raise money for a charity “close to my heart” – St John Ambulance.

“I wanted to help a familiar charity, and one close to my heart,” the professional Rubik’s Cube solver told the PA news agency.

“Both me and my mum, who is a carer, have had first aid training with St John Ambulance and the team are really lovely.

“I would also like to hope the attempt celebrates the 50th anniversary of the cube’s invention.”

Mr Scholey said preparation for the challenge “realistically” started nine years ago, when he first started solving the Rubik’s Cube.

“I also really enjoy running and as I had these two hobbies I was quite obsessed with, I just decided to merge them together,” he added.

“I’ve tried to get to this level of fitness to allow for any discrepancies or logistical issues that could arise on the day and am going to run the marathon a bit slower – a four-hour time – and just solve the cubes alongside running.”

On April 21 – the day of the marathon – backpacks of pre-scrambled puzzle cubes will be stationed every two miles along the 26.2 mile route, which will have been meticulously scrambled by Mr Scholey’s friends.

“We have 600 Rubik’s Cubes which my friends – who are cubers – are scrambling following computer-generated scrambles to ensure they’re adhering to the guidelines,” he said.

“Then they’re going to be distributed into these bags of 50 and then every two miles on the course, we’ll have a checkpoint where someone I know will be standing and I will be given a bag of scrambled cubes and will hand them my solved cubes and get going again.”

He thanked the efforts of his friends and family, which will allow him to focus on his attempt and “have a really nice day” on April 21.

He said he faced some issues in training when bags he used to hold the cubes ripped slightly, but he has since found stronger bags from Ikea.

He said solving a Rubik’s Cube is “like muscle memory”.

Every time you mix up a cube, the chances are no one's ever seen that scramble before - it's got more combinations than there are grains of sand on earth six times

“Every time you mix up a cube, the chances are no one’s ever seen that scramble before – it’s got more combinations than there are grains of sand on earth six times,” he added.

“Despite that, you sort of recognise a pattern and it’s intuitive.”

He encouraged those interesting in learning to solve Rubik’s Cubes to “go online and learn at your own pace”.

“There’s a really great community of people out there,” he added.

Jordan Pemberton, St John Ambulance challenge events executive, said: “We’re so proud of George and all our amazing London Marathon runners, fundraisers and supporters for raising vital funds which help our volunteers to save lives every day.

“Every penny donated to St John helps us continue to be there in the moments that matter and carry out our lifesaving work in communities.”

Footage of each scramble will be sent for verification to Guinness World Records after the attempt has been completed.

Mr Scholey’s fundraising page can be found here: 2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/george-scholey