Trail and Snowshoe Joggling

I did my first trail race while juggling back in November at the Fat Ass Trail Race 10K in Batawa, Ontario. It was surprisingly fun, trying to shift the juggling pattern to match the changing terrain as I jumped over logs, hopped around rocks and roots, and navigated up and down steep slopes. I finished in 56 mins, 46 seconds, with 6 drops and miraculously no falls. 

Dianne and I got some Dion Run 121 racing snowshoes for Christmas and I put them to good use in January, in what I think was the first-ever joggling snowshoe race at the Snowy Soles Snowshoe Race. (Photos by Mat Coker)

Edwin and Bergeron Joggle 3:00:06 Marathons on Same Day

October 15, 2023 will go down as one of the most remarkable in joggling history with two jogglers joggling marathons on the same day in the exact same time of 3 hours and 6 seconds, an Atlantic Ocean apart from each other.

Chris Edwin joggling the 2023 Yorkshire Marathon
(Photo via Chris Edwin)

First, U.K.'s Chris Edwin smashed his personal best joggling marathon time at the Yorkshire Marathon to become the third-fastest joggling marathoner of all time after me and Zach Warren. Later that same day, Canada's Michael-Lucien Bergeron set off on the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon on a blazing joggling pace ahead of my world record 2:50:12, but suffered some cramping to finish in 3:00:06 and tying Edwin on the third all-time marathon joggling list.

Many things can go wrong with you're running a marathon. Add juggling to the mix and the number of things that can go wrong increases exponentially. Here's how Bergeron described his race, in an Instagram post:

Michael-Lucien Bergeron joggling the
2023 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon
(Photo via Michael-Lucien Bergeron)

"What went wrong: When joggling you don’t have easily access to knowing your pace, so you rely on people around you. I had intended on running with Jennie for the first bit of the race but started to far back which took me over 5km to catch up to her. By that time, I was already running at a decent clip and decided to keep going, clocking a 1h22min30sec half marathon. From there things started to go wrong, with hot stop under my feet and stomach cramping. The pace was slowing down by 30km and I stop around 31.5km for a couple second contemplating just quitting. Some cheering from the sideline got me back in the race. Around 35km I started having an extreme pain in my left wrist, which is still present 24h later, likely overuse of tossing balls for 3h straight lol. With 2km to go, I got major cramping in my legs and even laid down on the ground for 1-2min while someone gave me a massage and someone else poured Gatorade in my mouth. I looked at my watch and got back up and tried sprinting to break 3h but finished 6sec over the mark in a time of 3h00min06sec. One last thing is that every time I needed to hydrate or anytime, I dropped a ball I had to stop forward movement to hydrate or pick up the ball which generated some lactic stress on the body."

Looking forward to seeing what these two guys can do in future marathons. And hopefully they can do a Kapral-Warren-style joggling marathon duel at some point in the near future. 

Best 5-ball Joggling Training Run Ever

I found the perfect 5-ball joggling training area in Port Hope. It’s a 500m stretch of newly paved bike and pedestrian path with no overhead trees and almost no other people. The other day I ran back and forth along this route to do some roughly timed 5-ball jaunts. I still usually drop about every 100m, but if I’m not worried about cars or other potential obstacles, I can often make it further. 

Midway through the 7km 5-ball training session, I glanced at my watch just before I started another half-kilometre interval along the path and boom, everything just clicked and I cruised the entire 500m without dropping a ball. I looked at my watch just after I stopped and it was somewhere around 2 minutes and 5 seconds, so about a 6:30 mile, and right on Matt Feldman’s 5-ball joggling mile world record pace. I did a little celebratory dance and continued on. I clicked off a bunch of other solid runs after that, including this one that Dianne filmed near the end of the session. 

5-Ball Joggling Practice in Port Hope

Our new neighbourhood in the town of Port Hope, Ontario, is a great place to work on 5-ball joggling. I’ve been tacking these sprint sessions onto the end of my non-joggling runs, hoping to eventually get good enough for a decent 5-ball 400m, 800m, mile or 5K. 

Joggling in Georgina for a Marathon DNF

Hi! It’s been nearly four years since my last post. Here’s a quick recap. There was a pandemic. In early 2023, we moved from Toronto about 100km east to the beautiful town of Port Hope, Ontario. In May, I ran my first 100-mile trail race (no juggling). On Sept. 10, I planned to joggle the Georgina Marathon for a Boston Qualifier and then joggle the Boston Marathon next year. 

My training for Georgina was terrible due to general laziness and lack of motivation, but I still felt like I had a good shot at a sub-3:25 age-group BQ time. Any thoughts at another no-drop joggling marathon were immediately dashed when I fumbled a catch about 30 seconds into the race as I tried to navigate the crowded path on the shore of Lake Ontario as runners jockeyed for position as they settled into pace. The beanbag rolled into the dirt, a sign of trouble to come. 

I settled into a good rhythm and clocked off a 22:10 first 5K and consciously slowed to 47:41 at 10K, hoping for a 3:15 to 3:20 marathon finish. But by the time I hit the half in 1:38, an early twinge in my left calf muscle had become a painful strain. An old juggling injury in my right shoulder had also reared its ugly head. So as I headed out on the second loop of the two-loop marathon course, I realized I’d have to pay an arm and a leg to finish the race. I stopped rest several times but it was no use. Just past 32K, I met up with Dianne on the course and called it a day. I hadn’t dropped a ball since those first few metres of the race, but now I dropped my whole self out. 

It was my second-ever DNF in a race (years ago, I dropped out 50K into a 100K race) but no regrets! Now time to train for my first-ever joggling trail race at the Fat Ass in Battawa, Ontario. 

Canadian Smashes Two Joggling World Records in Maldives

The Maldives joggling extravaganza blew away all my expectations. I'll write about it soon. Until then, here's a news release about the two new joggling world records I set during the trip.

Canadian Smashes Two Joggling World Records in Maldives

Michal “The Joggler” Kapral of Toronto runs first-ever 10km while juggling 4 objects, then destroys Guinness World Record for most consecutive stairs climbed while juggling 3 objects

MALÉ, MALDIVES – Oct. 16, 2019 – Canadian Guinness World Record holder Michal “The Joggler” Kapral of Toronto became the first person to run a road race while simultaneously juggling 4 balls, setting a new world record (and Guinness World Record, pending ratification) of 55 minutes, 48 seconds at the RunInAddu race on Oct. 5 in Addu, Maldives, the country’s southernmost atoll, along a scenic course bordered by white sand beaches and azure Indian Ocean waters.

Crossing the finish for the 4-ball joggling world record of 55:48.

“It was a dream destination race along a beautiful paved road and a fast, flat course,” says Kapral. “I couldn’t think of a better place to break a new joggling record. The 4-ball joggling pattern took laser-focus to maintain at sub-1-hour 10K pace. It was almost 20 minutes slower than my 3-ball joggling 10K Guinness World Record of 36:27, and took every ounce of my endurance and concentration. I was near exhaustion at about 8km, but pushed on – and wow, was I glad to see all the smiling faces at the finish line. It was totally worth the effort.”

Six days later, Kapral broke another world record in the Maldives capital of Malé, this time a Guinness World Record for most consecutive stairs climbed while juggling 3 objects. The event took place on the central staircase in Sultan Park, the lush garden next to the 16^th-century former palace of the sultan of Maldives. Kapral ran up and down 2,544 stairs (the single flight was 16 stairs) while juggling 3 beanbags without a drop, climbing past the height of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and nearly 1.5 times the number of stairs up the CN Tower in Toronto. Guinness World Records rules required Kapral to run while juggling both up and down the stairs without stopping or dropping a ball, and only the “up” counted toward the record. 

Kapral climbed more than four times higher than the previous world record of 600 stairs. He dropped a ball while turning around at the top of the staircase after running and juggling up 159 flights and after nearly 45 minutes. It’s interesting to note that the Maldives is the world’s lowest country at an average elevation of about 1.5 metres. Maldives tourism minister Ali Waheed attended the stair climb record event, along with other tourism representatives. 

Guinness World Record for consecutive stairs climbed while juggling 

Kapral set the two world records in the ]sport of joggling – jogging while juggling – as part of a new campaign initiative by the Maldives Tourism Board to attract running and sports tourists to the country. Both events were organized by Total Fitness Group, and the RunInAddu also featured a marathon, half-marathon, 5K, and a kids’ 2km run, which Kapral led along with wife Dianne and daughters Annika and Lauryn. The events were sponsored by Heritance Aarah Maldives, Adaaran Maldives, Meeru Island Resort and Kaimoo Maldives. Both record attempts were broadcast live nationally on Maldivian public TV. 

With the emergence of guesthouses and a wider range of travel options, and several marathons and other running races taking place across the country, as well as other sports events, Maldives hopes Kapral’s records will raise awareness for the Maldives as an emerging running and sports destination for travellers from Canada and the U.S. who are looking for new experiences on their journeys. Just over 9,500 tourists from Canada visited Maldives in 2018, a 6% increase over the previous year, and nearly 43,000 tourists from the U.S. visited the country in 2018, up 9.5% from 2017.

Kapral currently holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon while juggling 3 objects in 2 hours, 50 minutes and 12 seconds, along with several other joggling records. He is planning one more Guinness World Record attempt this year, this time for fastest half-marathon skipping without a rope, at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Oct. 20. It will be his first non-joggling record since he broke the record for fastest marathon pushing a baby in a stroller with daughter Annika at the Toronto Waterfront event in 2004. For that record, Kapral is raising funds in the charity challenge for Giant Steps Toronto for kids with autism. 

Stepping It Up for a Joggling Stair-Climb Guinness World Record in Maldives

Michal Kapral training in Toronto for the joggling stair-climb world record (Photo: Lauryn Kapral)

Life is full of ups and downs, but only the ups will count towards my latest Guinness World Record attempt for most consecutive stairs climbed while juggling without a drop. On Oct. 11, 2019, in Malé, Maldives, I'll be rising to the challenge in the world's flattest country, running and juggling up the equivalent number of steps of the world's tallest tower. The record attempt will take place six days after my Oct. 5 attempt to become the first person to race a 10K while joggling five balls.

Here's a news release:

Juggling Marathon Runner Steps It Up with New Guinness World Record Attempt for Juggling Stair Climb in Maldives, the World’s Flattest Country

TORONTO – September 13, 2019 – Michal “The Joggler” Kapral of Toronto, Canada, will be juggling three beanbags one toss and step at a time in Malé, Maldives, on October 11, 2019, as he attempts to run to a Guinness World Record for most consecutive stairs climbed while juggling three objects without a drop.

Kapral, 47, who owns several world records in the sport of joggling – running while juggling – including the fastest marathon while juggling three objects in 2 hours 50 minutes and 12 seconds, will rise to the world-record stair-climb challenge as part of a campaign to promote the destination for the Maldives Tourism Board.

“I’m super excited to smash this Guinness World Record with the world’s most stunning vacation destination as a backdrop,” says Kapral. “Maldives bills itself as ‘the sunny side of life’ and that’s exactly how I view running while juggling. It makes people smile and laugh. I’m looking forward to putting on a good show, running and juggling to new heights in the flattest country on Earth.”

This will be Kapral’s first attempt at a juggling stair-climbing record. The Guinness World Records rules state that he must juggle continuously throughout the attempt – and a dropped ball means the record attempt is over. He can juggle while running up and down a flight of stairs, but only the “up” stairs count towards the record.  

Malé, Maldives (Photo: Timo Newton-Syms)

Kapral will climb up and down a short flight of 10-20 outdoor stairs in the Maldivian capital city of Malé. He plans to reach at least 1,776 stairs, the equivalent of running up and down the staircase of the CN Tower in his hometown of Toronto, which until recently was the world’s tallest freestanding structure. If he surpasses the CNTower height, Kapral will keep climbing and juggling his way past 2,909 steps, the number of stairs to the top level of the 828-meter Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai, the world’s tallest building.  

There is no current record listed but Guinness World Records has set a minimum of 600 stairs to achieve the new record. In 2012, American Pete Moyer reportedly climbed 530 stairs at a hotel while juggling three beanbags. “I trained for this, but it hardly helped,” Moyer said after the climb. “It's extremely hard to breathe. If you want a good example, have someone strangle you while you walk your dog.” Kapral hopes to have a much more enjoyable experience juggling up the outdoor staircase in the fresh air of the azure paradise of Maldives.