An American dermatologist experienced an unexpected snarl while walking a half marathon when his axillary hairs tangled with fibres from his shirt.

In a twin feat of endurance, Dr Philip Cohen slogged on to the finish line and then chronicled his ordeal in a self-written case report, where he named the condition ‘sports-associated clothing-related axillary tangled clumped hairs’, or SCRATCH.

Dr Cohen took three hours and 42 minutes to complete the course in San Diego, California.

After his first hour, he developed otherwise asymptomatic swelling of both hands, which he had experienced during prior half marathons. Both of his hands and fingers became enlarged, and he could not make a fist.