Hero Teen Runs 71-Minute Half Marathon While Wearing Crocs

The two-hour barrier in the marathon was almost broken this past weekend when Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge ran 2:00:25 in a Nike-backed human science project that required fancy shoes. What if the best running shoes aren’t ones with a swoosh?

One of the most impressive running performances of the year took place at this weekend’s 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in Indianapolis, where 18-year-old Benjamin Pachev ran 71:53 for 16th place while wearing Crocs. His father, Alexander Pachev, was not too far behind and ran 76:07 in Crocs as well.

Benjamin Pachev does it by choice and says the Crocs can last him 2,000 miles while he averages about 65 miles/week.

“It’s like having a little fan that’s just streaming air over your foot,” Benjamin told FOX 59.

Bet you the lab rats at Nike didn’t think about that one!

This article originally appeared on SI.com