Pa. firefighter runs half marathon in full gear in memory of his dad

SCRANTON, Pa. (WPVI) -- There are some things most of us will never attempt. Running into a burning building might be one. Running a half marathon in full firefighter gear might be another.

Firefighter Ryan Robeson is not like most of us.

Over the weekend, the firefighter ran a half marathon through his hometown of Scranton, and he did it wearing everything a firefighter wears on the job: the coat and pants, the heavy boots, all while breathing from an oxygen tank.

He did it in memory of his father, a Scranton fire captain who was killed in the line of duty in 2008.

"I hope that people can appreciate the amount of effort, not that I am putting forth, but that our firefighters put forth," Robeson said. "You know, when there's an actual structure fire and the guy's going to a job, it's much more taxing than a marathon would be."

Fellow firefighters helped him change out the oxygen tanks every so often.

Those 50 pound tanks did slow him down a bit, but he kept going.

Robeson crossed the finish line a few minutes past his goal of three and a half hours.