Big Read: Guinness World Records has long been home to some of the most amazing, if unnecessary, feats of human physical achievement. Seven record holders tell the stories of why they decided to chase history and how they pulled it off. (By KrRutherford)
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As Furman and Kehayova know, setting a Guinness World Record isn’t without its risks. But that hasn’t stopped people from pursuing some wild and physically demanding dreams over the years. They’re not stopping either. In fact, since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Guinness book’s head office reports a larger than usual number of solo-effort record attempts are being submitted.
When I’m training for a specific record, for example, pulling a truck, I have a pick-up truck and that’s exactly what I do; while people are out jogging on the street, there I am tied to a truck, jogging along, too. I’ve got a fairly good grade out in front of my house that I use for endurance pulling, and when my neighbours find out I’m going to do a practice, they’ll go out by the road and sit in their lawn chairs to watch the show.
“I had four slices of pizza with everything on it. Of course, it did not get digested, so I started throwing up while I was rolling.” There was a thing called carbo loading back in those days, where the night before a long-distance event, you’d have a big carbohydrate meal. I had four slices of pizza with everything on it. Of course, it did not get digested, so I started throwing up while I was rolling. It has to be continuous rolling but you’re allowed to stop to throw up. It was messy. It was a hilly course and I’d only trained on a track. The hills threw me off.
I love the pogo stick. I’ve done a record on every continent with a pogo stick. For Antarctica, I flew in to break the fastest mile pogo stick record. The springs froze halfway through, but fortunately you’re allowed to switch pogo sticks.Cirque du Soleil rigger, responsible for ensuring the safety of high-flying athletes; hula hoop fitness instructor
At first, I couldn’t even get the hula hoop moving, because it’s so big and heavy. I almost gave up, but I put so much thought into fabricating it and perfecting it, I just thought I had to keep practicing and training to get stronger. The hula hoop is about 60 pounds. But it’s not about that, it’s so top heavy — that’s what made it very hard for me is just to get it spinning. You literally put it up against your back like you would any hula hoop and you stand there.
I wanted to do it just once and get it over with and impress everyone. But instead, I had so much power and adrenaline that I began to spin it almost too fast. When I finally let it go and whipped it, the hula hoop had so much speed that once I let go, it began to raise up on my chest. I felt it coming and it’s not like I could slow it down with one movement — it’s got speed now, and it actually rose up and whacked me across the face.
Training to run a mile blindfolded while juggling does require some help, of course, but Rush did much of his preparation solo. I think I’ve submitted seven [new records] since this pandemic started, six of them with Jonathan. One was the most wet sponges thrown into the face in 30 seconds. I took the hit and I took them in the face. Jonathan is an ambidextrous thrower, which is really important, so he can throw left hand, right hand, left hand, right hand, really accurately. He’s doing the throwing and I catch them in my face.
Walsh started at a closer distance to break the record, and hit that one after a few tries. Then she moved back to 12.31 metres. On YouTube I saw this guy leg-pressing a New York taxi cab and I thought, “Oh, I wonder if I can do that?” That’s where the chip is missing, right? You don’t think, “This is a ridiculous idea.” You know the leg press machines where you put the plates on and you’re on the floor pushing up? I thought, “Okay, why don’t I see if I’m actually strong.
You feel like you’ve got a flu, you can’t move, everything tightens up. You have to stretch. You have to hydrate like crazy. You have to eat. I didn’t even want to get out of bed for two days. Two days after, when you’ve overcome the adrenaline crash, then you feel the inspiration and excitement. The excitement, it’s unbelievable.
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