FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
High Five! Champion Juggling Runner Michal Kapral to Attempt 5-Ball ‘Joggling’ Marathon Guinness World Record in Toronto
Kapral to race Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon juggling 5 beanbags – and chewing gum – to raise funds for SickKids Foundation
TORONTO – SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 – Ten years after smashing the current Guinness World Record for fastest marathon while juggling three objects in 2 hours 50 minutes, Toronto’s Michal “The Joggler” Kapral plans to run and juggle his way to a new record, keeping five beanbags aloft every step of the 2017 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 22.
Kapral, 45, a writer at Health Quality Ontario in Toronto, has completed eight three-ball marathons while “joggling” – the sport that combines running (or jogging) and juggling – including the 2016 Chicago Marathon, which he finished without dropping a ball once in 2 hours 55 minutes.
| Michal Kapral works on his five-ball joggling at the Toronto Beach |
This will be Kapral’s first attempt at a five-ball joggling marathon, and the first time anyone has officially tried to run an entire 42.2km race while juggling five balls. The only other known five-ball joggling marathon was by the late Billy Gillen of Brooklyn, N.Y., who reportedly joggled the 1988 New York City Marathon in 7 hours 7 minutes.
Guinness World Records has set a time of 4 hours 40 minutes to establish an official record. An adjudicator will at the race to verify the record attempt on the spot. Kapral will aim for 4:40, but has a secondary goal of breaking the existing mark of 7:07.
“This is by far the most difficult world record I’ve ever attempted,” says Kapral, who also holds Guinness World Records for the fastest half-marathon and 10K while juggling three objects, and previously held the record for fastest marathon pushing a stroller. “Juggling five balls standing still is about 10 times harder than three. Keeping that five-ball pattern flying in the air while running a marathon is just completely nuts. It feels like you’re running two marathons at once – one with your arms and one with your legs.”
Kapral expects to stop or drop several hundred times during the marathon, and has enlisted joggling rival and friend Zach Warren to run behind him (without juggling) to act as a spotter, and to ensure the safety of the other runners. Despite having to look up at an angle, Kapral is able to see ahead of him while running and juggling with five beanbags. Guinness World Records rules stipulate that if Kapral drops a ball, he must return behind the drop point before restarting. He can stop to drink or eat, but must be juggling every step of the way forward.
As he did while setting the 2007 world record while joggling three balls, Kapral will chew gum during the entire five-ball joggling marathon. “People always ask me, ‘Can you also chew gum while you do that?’” Kapral says. “I’ll be chewing Stride gum the whole way, because yes I can!”
Kapral is raising donations for SickKids Foundation as part of the record attempt, to support patient care, research and equipment at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, where Kapral received treatment for severe asthma as a child. Donations can be made through this link: https://www.sickkidsdonations.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=3952455&langPref=en-CA.
In another world first, Kapral has likely become the first runner to secure an official cinnamon bun sponsor. Rosen’s Cinnamon Buns, founded by cookbook author Amy Rosen, has endorsed the marathon record attempt.
“These delectable treats fuelled some of my long training runs,” says Kapral, “so having Rosen’s on board is just the icing on the bun.”
Kapral chronicles his joggling experiences on his blog, The Bloggling Joggler, at http://www.thejoggler.blogspot.com.
-30-
For high-resolution images, or for more information, please contact Michal Kapral at [email protected], or @mkapral on Twitter.
