Perhaps you\u2019ve noticed I\u2019m totally obsessed with all the various world records I\u2019ve covered this past year. I don\u2019t doubt it has something to do with my firmly held notion that I won\u2019t be getting my name on any of the lists. And the lists grow every month. Just to make sure I\u2019m not missing out on any \u201ceasy\u201d world records out there, I went onto The Guiness World Record website, and quickly decided that it would be embarrassing to actually get my name published there. Besides all the \u201cnoble\u201d records (like the Kipchoge or Koskei type), the rest were just publicity stunts. Yes, specific skills were required, which of course took lots of patience to develop. But the end result could hardly elicit admiration or serious consideration. Before getting to the more serious record-setters, here\u2019s a quick look at the ludicrous records! Consider Ashrita Furman, a health food store manager in Queens. He has held (simultaneously) 120 Guinness World Records, and set over 300 records (which really means there are that many people out to break records, no matter what they be!). Examples: under very strict guidelines on April 3, 2005, he walked 11.3 kilometers balancing a cue stick on the tip of his finger.<\/p>\n
The \u201cbalancing a cue stick\u201d world record under the shadow of the Egyptian Pyramids \u201cashrita.com\/about\u201d, Photograph: Aladin Abdel Naby\/Reuters.<\/em><\/p>\n Who possibly could have made that one up?? He says he\u2019s not a natural athlete, but meditates, and wants to show others the benefits of the practice. His name \u201cAshrita\u201d means \u201cprotected by God\u201d in Sanskrit. It looks like he\u2019s also doing the setting records on every continent thing: he \u201chula-hooped\u201d the fastest mile at Ayers Rock (Uluru) in Australia, and then went the fastest mile on a pogo stick in Antarctica. I can\u2019t stop there – he\u2019s also standing on a Swiss Ball for the longest time at Stonehenge (England), skipping rope the most times in a minute while jumping on a pogo stick (he must love pogo sticks) at Angkor Wat (Cambodia), and bouncing the fastest mile on a \u201ckangaroo ball\u201d along the Great Wall of China. Seriously, the list includes over 100 more world records he\u2019s achieved. Ashrita credits his meditation teacher, Sri Chinmoy for his remarkable endurance and strength. \u201cI am not a natural athlete, but my teacher has shown me that if one can be in touch with one\u2019s inner spirit, anything is possible.\u201d Whew.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n With that said, here are some admirable, more traditional records broken. Christine Hobson, a 69 year-old \u201cgrandmother\u201d from England completed the Antarctic Ice Marathon last month (Dec 12-14th) and is officially the oldest woman to complete the marathon. Her time of 8:11:33 is within my range, but…oh, yes, I\u2019m not a woman. The oldest men\u2019s record goes to 84 year-old Roy Svenningsen from Canada – I wonder if I could do that in 9 years? He \u201cran\u201d it in 11:41:58. Heck, I can do that…but then I found out the course, which is groomed with snowmobiles (like getting it ready for a good skate ski outing), and was like running on sand, the whole way. Ouch. That\u2019s not for me!<\/p>\n I really enjoy the ingenuity of the human – there\u2019s a growing demand to run marathons on every continent – hence now there are 2 different Antarctic marathons. This one requires a 3 day commitment, going to Punta Arenas in Chile to board a private jet, landing on the Union Glacier in the interior of Antarctica. In case you\u2019re wanting to do something like that, you could also do the North Pole Marathon, organized by the same organization…but then the North Pole isn\u2019t on a separate continent, so why do it?? Anyway, the Antarctic Ice Marathon is different from the original one, the Antarctica Marathon, held on King George Island. A few more facts to whet your appetite…the cost is a mere $21,500, which if paid in full when you register, you get a $1000 discount. Sweet. And this marathon is officially the most southerly marathon on the planet. And last month it garnered 57 contestants from 20 countries, so it\u2019s not too crowded. Snowmobiles comprise the support vehicles, sorta like running around West Yellowstone in the winter. I guess you really have to want to do this! And it\u2019s a circular course, 4 laps of about 10k each….just so you can say you\u2019ve \u201crun\u201d on a snowmobile-groomed snowy path. The more I read Christine Hobson\u2019s account, the more I realized she\u2019s doing something pretty darn special. Here she is on the course:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/winddrinkers.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Screen-Shot-2022-12-28-at-11.06.29-AM.png\")
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