Amish man runs marathon in traditional outfit of slacks, suspenders

Natalie DiBlasio | USA TODAY

Maybe runners don't need all that flashy gear after all. An Amish man, clad in his community's traditional clothing, finished the Harrisburg Marathon on Nov. 8 in three hours, five minutes and 45 seconds.

Leroy Stolzfus, 22, told Pennlive.com that he's used to running in slacks and suspenders and that he turns to running whenever he's tempted to sin.

Stolzfus runs in the evening after he works at his job at a tobacco shop. Unlike most marathoners, who run around 20 miles at a time in training, Stolzfus says he doesn't even get up to 10 miles sometimes.

"I had no pain whatsoever," Stolzfus told Pennlive.com. "It was more mental anguish than in my legs. You have to train yourself not to think about it. It will just slow you down. I was once told by someone that it's 20% training and 80% mental. I do believe that."

After getting "involved with some stuff" he said shouldn't have, Stolzfus says he was introduced to running by his brother-in-law.

The future is uncertain for Stolzfus, but he said he is interested in running an ultramarathon and attempting to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Stolzfus finished just a minute short of a Boston Marathon qualifying time for his age group.

Contributing: The Associated Press