Aug 29, 2003
The Fastest Time for a Marathon (26.2 Miles) and 50 Miles
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In 1989, Ashrita set another record by joggling for 50 miles in the time of 8 hours 52 minutes and 7 seconds.
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No, I didn’t make this up! Joggling, which is juggling while jogging, is a well-established and highly competitive sport. In this case, the record is for juggling 3, balls but there are categories for 5 balls and even 7 balls. You are allowed to drop the balls but you have to scramble around and collect them and then go back to where you fumbled, thereby losing precious time. Obviously, the key to this discipline is concentration.
In 1988 I trained for 6 months for the marathon record which at the time was 3 hours and 29 minutes. Some acquaintances tried to discourage me from attempting the feat, saying it was too difficult. But, of course, that motivated me even more to go for it. Before the event I sent out notices to the media, and one of the New York daily newspapers covered my last practice session. On the day of the marathon, the article came out with a large headline proclaiming “Queens (NY) Man Goes for the Jugular.” Unfortunately, on that day in May in Flushing Meadow Park in Queens, the temperature climbed unexpectedly into the high 80’s and I burned out around the 20-mile point. After all the publicity, which also included T.V. coverage, I felt pretty embarrassed.
Aug 29, 2003
The Most 20-ounce Glasses Balanced On Chin
The glasses stack one inside another forming an immense single tower of glass which you have to lift off from a rack, place on your chin, and keep balanced (without using your hands) for 10 seconds. Those 10 seconds can seem like an eternity! As you stack the glasses higher and higher, the tower curves in the middle, arching backwards over your head. If you aren’t extremely careful while you are lifting or balancing the glasses, the middle ones can shatter, and suddenly you are looking up at 40 or more pounds of glass about to fall directly on to your face. That is the moment when it is wise to run for your life!
I first attempted to break this existing record of 50 glasses while on the Dini Petty Show in Toronto, Canada. Just before going on the air, I was warming up with stacks of 45 and 48 glasses but for some strange reason the glasses were breaking before I even lifted them off the rack. I decided to make the attempt anyway, so I set up 51 glasses, placed them on my chin and immediately heard a distinct cracking noise. It must have been fun for the audience to watch me, Dini Petty, the timers and even the cameramen simultaneously sprinting out of the studio in a panic!
Aug 29, 2003
The most continuous hours clapping.
You have to clap an average of 160 times a minute and the claps have to be audible to the official witnesses who are situated 120 yards away. You are allowed 5 minutes of rest after each hour of clapping.
This event is a challenge because you have to clap very fast and very loudly for more than 2 days!
The record at the time I spotted it was 42 hours and I had the “brilliant” idea of clapping for 50 hours in front of the Lincoln Center in New York City to honor my meditation teacher’s upcoming 50th birthday. Unfortunately, my choice of location was a disaster. I was in the middle of one of the noisiest cities in the world competing to be heard. After 15 hours of pounding my hands together I had to give up. I felt even worse the next day when I read the newspaper. The New York Times had never covered any of my successful record attempts and, of all times, they chose to report on my first flop.
Jul 22, 2003
I’ve always been intrigued by Stonehenge but never felt any great compulsion to go there until about a month ago. Suddenly, I was just dying to visit the historic site in England and set a record there, so when the opportunity recently arose, I jumped at the chance. My enthusiasm was only slightly dampened when I heard that Stonehenge can be quite windy at times.
The wind at Stonehenge probably doesn’t concern most people, unless they’re trying to fly a kite (unlikely) or attempting to break the Guinness record for standing on a Swiss ball, which is what I decided to do. I always practice for this record indoors because it’s hard enough to balance on the ball even without any distractions. I knew that balancing outdoors at Stonehenge, in a stiff breeze, would be a constant struggle to adjust to the varying velocity and direction of the wind. Dealing with comments from the stream of tourists would be a further challenge, but somehow it seemed like such a perfect fit- trying to stand on a ball for the longest time next to those massive stones that have been standing in a circle for more than 5,000 years.
Mar 29, 2003
Most Games Completed in 24 Hours
You have to abide by the British system, which uses 10 boxes instead of the usual 8, and a 3-foot space between the frontline and the first 2 boxes. All other hopscotch rules apply, such as not stepping on any lines and not stepping in the box the rock is thrown in, etc.
Although this record sounds like kid’s play, it is in reality quite exhausting. You have to be extremely dynamic the entire 24 hours and very accurate with the rock toss. The game of hopscotch is actually derived from a regimen used by Roman soldiers centuries ago to maintain their fitness and agility.
That is quite apropos because the second time I attempted this event I was in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and one of the most enthusiastic witnesses was a high -ranking member of the military. Although I was game, I started the attempt with a case of the flu and after about 12 hours I just couldn’t go on anymore. However, the disappointed general kept insisting I continue!
I later broke the record upon my return to New York. My teacher, Sri Chinmoy, came for a short time to watch and encourage me. A perfect game in hopscotch, in which you get the rock in every box without a single miss, is very rare. I had been playing for hours without getting even one perfect game, but as soon as my teacher arrived, I scored two perfect games in a row. When I missed late into the third game, my teacher seemed surprised and asked me what was wrong! He showed me there was a whole new level of concentration I had never even imagined.
