A CORNISH dairy farmer swapped muddy fields for the streets of the capital to complete the 2026 TCS London Marathon dressed as a tractor.

Michael Barrett, from Duloe near Liskeard, took on the 26.2-mile challenge in a homemade Kubota-inspired costume while raising money for Cornwall Hospice Care – and despite falling short of a Guinness World Record, he still crossed the finish line with a huge smile and more than £7,000 raised.

Michael had set his sights on the title for the fastest marathon dressed as a heavy-duty vehicle (male), with the benchmark standing at 4 hours, 50 minutes and 54 seconds.

Instead, after battling heat, fatigue and a rather dramatic costume mishap, he rolled home in 5 hours and 23 minutes.

“The record was four hours and 50 minutes. Unfortunately, I did five hours and 23 minutes,” he said. “The end game was completing it.”

And complete it he did.

Michael’s eye-catching outfit was based on his own Kubota M7-154 tractor and built using bath panels left over from a bathroom renovation. Attached to a lightweight aluminium frame, the costume also featured bucket lids as wheels, a roof panel, exhaust pipe and an orange LED warning beacon.

It may not have been Formula One engineering, but it certainly turned heads.

“I only did one training run with the tractor and that was along the Camel Trail,” he laughed. “I got some strange looks.”

If marathon day wasn’t hard enough, London turned up the temperature.

“The heat was fairly unbearable and certainly made it tougher,” he said. “But still a very enjoyable experience.”

Michael admitted he wisely started slower than usual, knowing the extra weight and bulk of the costume could cause trouble later on.

“I started off a lot slower because I knew it couldn’t be otherwise. But with the heat and the extra weight of the costume, it just took its toll a little bit.”

Then came the malfunction. To keep the tractor steady, Michael had fitted a swimming ring around his waist to stop it swinging from side to side. Unfortunately, that plan burst into trouble after just 4.5 miles.

“That burst about four and a half miles in,” he said. “I’m not sure how much it affected things physically, but psychologically it does. Your mind is ticking over the whole time – can I do it, can’t I do it?”

Despite the wobble, support from his family and the crowds kept him moving.

The challenge marked a remarkable return to running for Michael, who last completed the London Marathon in 2010 before restarting training last year.

“I thought, what can I do differently? Then I came across the tractor record and thought – that’s doable.”

Balancing marathon training with running a 280-cow dairy herd supplying Cornish Dairy Co was no small task, but after months of dark evening runs, long shifts and one unforgettable tractor test-drive, Michael has no regrets.

“Disappointed I didn’t get the world record,” he admitted. “I was reasonably confident I could do it. But I’m glad I finished with the tractor on.”