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Man in gorilla suit crawls to London Marathon finish after 6 days

LONDON -- An English policeman wearing a gorilla costume while crawling the London Marathon has finally finished the race, almost a week after starting.

Metropolitan Police officer Tom Harrison, who goes by the name "Mr. Gorilla," raised a reported 26,000 pounds ($33,650) for the Gorilla Organisation, which is dedicated to conserving gorillas in countries including Rwanda and Uganda.

The 41-year-old Londoner started the 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) route last Sunday and crossed the finish line on Saturday.

"Prior to this, the most I had crawled in one go was a mile, so I found the first day of the marathon really exhausting," he said, according to the BBC.

Harrison slept at friends' houses in the evenings after completing around 10 to 12 hours and 4.5 miles per day. He has swapped between crawling on his hands and knees and up on his hands and feet to save his blistered knees.

He crossed the finish line in central London flanked by his two sons -- and beating his chest.

"I'll be glad to get the costume washed as it's getting a little bit fruity," he said, according to the BBC. "I think I've started to smell a bit like a gorilla."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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