Seahawks Fan Dresses Up as Marshawn Lynch, Completes Swiss Ski Marathon

Beast Mode has acquired all-terrain capabilities. No one is safe.

Indeed, in what may be one of the most interesting homages ever paid to an American running back, a Seattle Seahawks fan has adopted the signature style of Marshawn Lynch and added skis.

According to Chris Daniels of KING5.com (h/t John Ferensen of Next Impulse Sports), Washington resident Tony Wiederkehr showed up to compete in the Engadin Ski Marathon in Switzerland wearing a complete Lynch costume.

Dressed in pads, a helmet and Lynch’s signature dreadlocks, the 48-year-old American aerospace engineer went the entire length of the 42-kilometer race with a football in his hands instead of traditional ski poles.

“I wanted to do something to honor the Seahawks,” Wiederkehr told Daniels. 

Wiederkehr handed out 100 miniature, plastic helmets to children over the course of the marathon. A resident of Snohomish, Wash., he claims he pitched the idea to his wife after the Seahawks won the Super Bowl in February. 

“She bought in,” Wiederkehr said. “And I thought, that means it’s going to happen now.”

The plan came to fruition March 7 when Wiederkehr successfully completed the marathon. Naturally, he turned a few heads along the way. 

Olympic cross country skier Holly Brooks noticed the man and his Beast Mode getup cruising down the course. 

A Seattle resident, Brooks knows that Seahawks fans do some wild things to show love for their team. The sight of a Lynch lookalike plowing through a Swiss skiing marathon, however, was something she hadn’t prepared for.

“I know that Seattleites have done some cool things to celebrate the Hawks, but this has got to be one of the most unique ones,” Brooks wrote to Daniels in an email.

Wiederkehr finished the race 4,873rd out of over 13,000—not exactly Beast Mode numbers, but respectable for a guy toting mini helmets and a football in place of ski poles. He claimed he may be wearing the outfit again at an upcoming race in Wisconsin. 

This begs the question: Will Lynch get in on the action and put on some skis?

Can we fantasize about Jim Harbaugh taking a ski vacation, only to look over his shoulder and see Lynch in full pads and skis, "beasting" after him in a frozen forest?

We can dare to dream, although Lynch might not be excited at the prospect of sliding through snow on a pair of slippery boards. 

He’s more about that traction, boss.

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