“Getting to train with my dad has been really fun and such a privilege”
A father and daughter from Co Antrim are hoping to make history when they compete at the Belfast Half Marathon later this month.
Iain and Holly Taggart from Ballymena are putting their impressive running skills to the test on September 20 as they hope to achieve the Guinness World Record for fastest half marathon ran by parent and child (mixed).
A title previously held by another NI father-daughter duo, David and April Clarke, the current record is held by an American mother and son who beat the Clarkes by one second in 2022 (2:44:01).
Speaking to Belfast Live ahead of their WR attempt, Iain and Holly said it would be a “dream” to make history together.
Holly, 27, works as a business and commercial graduate and only properly got into running two years ago.
She said: “It’s something I started to properly do in 2024, when I trained for the Queen’s 5k race. I used to play hockey for Ulster and Ireland and would always run as part of my pre-season training, and my dad would help me with those sessions.
“Being a centre midfielder really helped with my base level fitness for running. In 2023, I retired from hockey and went travelling.
“I used running as my only form of keeping fit – I settled in Australia for a couple of months and whilst there really worked on trying to get my 5k back to below sub-20 as I’d lost a lot of fitness whilst travelling.”
57-year-old business owner Iain has been running for over 20 years and after a short retirement, he got back into running to help Holly prepare for her biggest race to date earlier this year.
“I started running at age 35, when football ended,” he explained.
“I had actually retired from running for five years when Holly began training in 2025 for her first marathon in Seville – I hated seeing her go out on dark winter mornings alone to train, so said I’d go with her and that’s what started me again.”
Iain has competed in marathons across the globe, including New York and London, and has an impressive PB of 2:37.
Holly added: “I completed my debut marathon in Seville in February 2026 and absolutely loved it.
“I got a 2:47 – largely thanks to my dad’s advice! As part of my training for it, I participated in Battersea Park Half-Marathon and came second.”
The idea to take on the half marathon world record together has been in the back of their minds since they started training for Holly’s first marathon together – and they agreed, there is no better course to do it than at home.
Iain continued: “I thought the record was achievable for us after our training for Seville, and wanted to do it in our home city.”
He said achieving this with his daughter would be a “dream come true”.
“It would be unbelievable,” Holly added.
“But even getting to train with my dad has been really fun and such a privilege. I love our long runs and really consider my dad’s work ethic to be so inspiring.
“I massively appreciate how much help and guidance he gives me with my training.”
You can support Holly and Iain’s world record attempt when the Belfast City Half Marathon takes place on September 20, 2026.
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