Home again ... now what?

I'm back home recovering and wondering ... what next?

Before I write up an article about the race, here's a snippet from the Salt Lake Tribune's online edition:

Just short of a world record

Joggler Michal Kapral came within a minute and a few seconds of the world
record by finishing the Salt Lake City Marathon in 2:53:28.

The record for "fastest marathon while juggling three objects" is 2:52:15,
set at the Philadelphia Marathon in November 2006 by Zach Warren.


On Saturday, Warren clocked in at 2:57:02. Kapral and
Warren stayed with each other for most of the race and alternated leads. From
miles 12-15, Warren had the lead. Then Kapral was ahead for the next two miles.
For about five miles, the runners were even until Kapral took advantage when
Warren took a water break. At the 22-mile mark, Kapral took off.


"At the 24th mile, everything went blank. I was hallucinating. I just
couldn't move forward," Kapral said. "Focusing on juggling, it did help me
relax, but at some point, it does get frustrating. I just wanted to throw the
balls on the side of the road."

Warren hit that point of frustration, too.

"It's psychological warfare," Warren said. "It's so tempting to give
up. I was feeling terrible at mile 12." Even though there is
a rivalry between the runners, there's also respect. "It was
a really good battle," Kapral said. "It was back and forth."

Elite athletes coordinator Larry Barthlow said Kapral would have gotten a
world record Saturday if it wasn't for the altitude.

"He probably lost five or six minutes because of the altitude," Barthlow
said.

PRESS RELEASE: The Salt Lake City joggle-off

World Record Up for Grabs as ‘Joggling’ Rivals Face Off at Salt Lake City Marathon

TORONTO – The masters of multi-tasking, Michal “The Joggler” Kapral of Toronto and Zach “The Jolly Juggler” Warren of West Virginia, will race for Guinness World Record glory in a “joggling” showdown at the Salt Lake City Marathon on April 21, 2007.

Kapral, 34, senior editor at Captivate Network, and Warren, 25, a laughter researcher at Harvard, will each juggle three beanbags every step of the way as they race against each other along the scenic 26.2-mile marathon course.

The two elite jogglers have been tossing the world record back and forth in a fierce but friendly rivalry since Kapral first set the mark in 2005, with a time of 3 hours and 7 minutes.

Warren edged out Kapral’s record by just 41 seconds two months later at the Philadelphia Marathon and the stage was set for the first ever joggling marathon duel at the famed Boston Marathon. Warren and Kapral attracted international media attention in their marathon joggle-off, with Warren crossing the line first in a new world-record time of 2 hours and 58 minutes.

Kapral stole the record back with a 2:57 performance at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in September 2006. But Warren – with a documentary film crew at his side – again joggled the record back into American hands with a stunning 2:52 in Philadelphia.

“Marathon joggling is a funny sport,” says Kapral, “but this record is seriously difficult. Salt Lake is going to see a no-holds-barred joggling battle and I really want to take the record back.”

Both jogglers are raising money for children’s charities. Kapral is accepting donations for A Run For Liane in support of The Hospital for Sick Children’s new childhood cancer research centre in Toronto, and Warren, also a unicyclist and circus performer, is collecting funds for the Afghan Mobile Mini-Circus for Children, an NGO based in Kabul (http://www.unicycle4kids.org/).

Kapral, a father of two girls, holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest joggling 10K (36 minutes and 27 seconds) and also the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon pushing a baby in a stroller (2 hours and 49 minutes). He won the Toronto Marathon in 2002 (without juggling) in a personal-best time of 2:30. Kapral writes a popular blog called The Bloggling Joggler.

Warren is a Divinity graduate student at Harvard and has been studying the healing effects of laughter on children in Afghanistan. Warren holds the world records for the fastest mile on a unicycle and the fastest mile on a unicycle while juggling three objects.

Guinness World Records rules state that if the joggler drops a ball, he must return to the drop point before continuing. The balls must be juggled continuously in traditional cascade pattern.

HIGH-RES PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Contact: Michal or Dianne Kapral at T:416-690-8887 or C:416-573-3036, thejoggler1@gmail.com.

A long joggle through the streets of Toronto

Today's joggling mileage: 22 miles (with one espresso stop and one pastry stop)

It's less than two months before the Salt Lake City Marathon and I'm in serious training mode, which means my Sunday long joggles are getting seriously long. Today's 22-miler (36 km) really tested my arms and legs at the end.

One of the best things about long runs is seeing so much of the city. I usually try to do a big loop rather than an out-and-back course and often stop for some kind of mid-run treat.

Today I ran from my place in East York to the city's best source of espresso, Seb's Cappuccino. Hopped up on caffeine, I joggled through Riverdale, up past Bayview Village and into North Toronto, where I grew up, and where my parents still live. I stopped it to see them, but they didn't hear the doorbell. Oh well, time to head home, but not before stopping at Cobs Bread for an apple danish.

Back along the Danforth I did some showboating that drew some honks from passing motorists. Next post I'll discuss joggling tricks.