Nurse runs marathon in scrubs, breaks Guinness World Record

April 21 (UPI) -- A Philadelphia nurse broke a Guinness World Record when she donned her hospital scrubs and ran a marathon in 2 hours, 48 minutes and 2 seconds.

Sam Roecker, who works full time as a nurse at Penn Medicine's Perelman Center, wore her hospital scrubs at Monday's Boston Marathon and broke the Guinness World Record for fastest marathon in a nurse's uniform (female).

The previous record of 3 hours, 8 minutes and 22 seconds was set by Jessica Anderson at the London Marathon in 2019.

Roecker dedicated her record attempt to raise awareness of the mental health challenges facing nurses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Her run raised more than $45,000 for mental health services.

"A lot of anxiety, a lot of PTSD, there's not really a lot of resources out there," Roecker told WTFX-TV of the mental health issues faced by nurses. "I kind of saw that gap and was looking for a way to bring some kind of positivity to my co-workers and friends who have been struggling."