This was not Jasperson’s first race in firefighter gear. In 2015, when he was 19, he attempted to break the Guinness World Record for fastest mile in firefighter gear without a SCBA, and successfully. A couple of months later, however, his record was broken by professional triathlete Andrew Drobeck in a 6:07. Jasperson was not to be outdone, so naturally, he then came back and ran a 5:51 in 2018. He is waiting for approval from Guinness for his newest record.
“I had always thought about military service if running wasn’t in the picture, but I am extremely passionate about running,” said Jasperson, who caught the attention of college coaches after clocking times ofin high school. After receiving a fire safety degree from Everett Community College, Jasperson transferred to WWU, where he is now studying kinesiology while also putting in hours at the fire department and on the track.
Though running in split shorts is a very different experience than running in full fire-protective gear, Jasperson said that he did not alter his training for the record attempt, but instead stuck to team’s typical