Friday, February 17, 2017

Blogiversary: 10 Years of Blogging About Joggling

Most people can't believe that joggling is a real thing that people do. Well, can you believe that I have been writing this blog about joggling for 10 years? Ten years! Exactly a decade ago, I launched The Bloggling Joggler with this post, saying:
"Welcome to the drama, the pain, the heartaches, the headaches, the insanity and the joy that is joggling. This blog will track my journey as I attempt to reclaim the Guinness World Record for 'fastest marathon (26.2 miles) while juggling three objects,' and any future joggling feats."
I never imagined the joggling hilarity that would ensue for the next 10 years.

Some highlights:

2007: Zach Warren and I faced off in a joggling duel at the Salt Lake City Marathon. We were featured in a CBC News documentary and the feature documentary, Breaking and Entering, by the amazing Benjamin Fingerhut.



2008: I chased after the joggling 5000m world record, falling just a few seconds short. I joggled the Cayman Islands Half-Marathon. I became, I think, the first person to joggle in the Northwest Territories, joggling the first few hundred metres of the Rock and Ice Ultra 135km race near Yellowknife.

2009: I appeared on MTV Canada, joggling onto the stage to the Rocky theme song. I joggled the World's Best 10K in Puerto Rico. I set the half-marathon joggling record of 1:24 in Montreal.

2010: The film Breaking and Entering released to rave reviews from Variety and New York Times.



2011: Tried to break the 5000m joggling Guinness World Record of 16:55 again, and missed out again by about 10 seconds. This is a tough one.

2012: Joggled the Chilly Half-Marathon in Burlington with a GoPro on my head. In October, I became the first person to win a marathon while juggling, joggling a 2:59 at the Trapline Marathon in Labrador. Beautiful race course.

joggling michal kapral
Joggling the Chilly Half-Marathon in Burlington, Ont.

2013: I made two attempts at the world record for the joggling 800m (2:12:45) and missed out the first time after a drop and the second time finishing in 2:15.




2014: I set a new Guinness World Record for the joggling half-marathon at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront race, finishing in 1:20:40. I set the unofficial joggling beer mile world record. Late in 2014, I flew to Los Angeles for a three-day TV commercial shoot for Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott.

Michal Kapral joggling half-marathon Toronto running juggling
On my way to the Guinness World Record of 1:20:40 for fastest joggling half-marathon at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront race. Photo: John Chou




2015: I planned to run the New York City Marathon while juggling but my beanbags were deemed a security risk. The joggling marathon that wasn't made the New York Times, Runner's World and Canadian Running.



2016: Sponsored by Fairfield Inn and Suites, I ran the Chicago Marathon while juggling in 2:55:25, without dropping a ball. The story went massively viral and I spent the next few weeks doing interviews every day. Unreal. The video below, shot by Chicago photographer Wendy Alas, was viewed millions of times, on Good Morning America, ESPN, BBC and elsewhere. Earlier in the year, I joggled another beer mile in 8:48, making ESPN and TMZ.


2017: To be continued. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Has anyone out there been reading this thing for the full 10 years?

Michal Kapral joggling Chicago Marathon running juggling
Joggling the 2016 Chicago Marathon in 2:55:25 without dropping a ball. Photo: Colin B Photography