If we ask you to run on a treadmill for 24 hours, you would probably think: “Are you crazy?”
An average human being requires at least 7-8 hours of sleep and I trust that majority of you would rather make use of the time doing productive tasks or taking time off from your busy schedules to relax. Despite that, Bjørn Tore Kronen Taranger, a 39 years old Norwegian athlete, decided to uptake this challenge to accomplish something significant.
Taranger managed to run 24 hours straight on the treadmill back in 11th October 2018 and had only 2 reasons for doing so:
- Primarily: He wanted to raise money for the kids over at the Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen
- Secondary: He wanted to break the Guinness World Record for furthest distance run on a treadmill in 24 hours by a male, which was previously 261.18K or roughly 162 miles.
He proudly exclaimed:
I wanted to do it for all the kids that cannot walk, have heart failure, cancer, and more—for all the kids that cannot do what I can!
With this aspiration, he managed to not only raise over US$12,000 but also managed to beat the current world record by 3.34km with his distance of 264,520km Throughout this mind-breaking journey, he had his family, friends and even celebrities to thank for supporting alongside with him in different shifts. Not only that, a shoutout to Kygo for being the biggest star that accompanied him.
It was fantastic to have 24 different celebrities running for one hour each on the treadmill next to mine. I had a blast on the treadmill with a lot of awesome people surrounding me. The last hour was totally insane! What an epic hour that was, with people cheering and going crazy everywhere. It’s hard to even describe the feeling.
Running 24 hours straight is no easy feat, battling against his mental strength and getting enough nutrition throughout his run during the event was Taranger greatest challenge, especially during his 15-16 hour and 18-19 hour. He was fueled by carbohydrates such as cheese pizza, salty ham, salty candy, tomatoes, and drank Coca-Cola for that extra sugar rush. To put himself on the extra edge, rock music was being played as motivation.
You have to work hard mentally. I never quit, I always keep running until I’m done.
Physical preparation was of course as important as any other ultra race:
- Eating lots of carbs
- Two sessions of training every day
- Tapering in the last week before the event
Taranger is now aiming to claim the world championship title for 24-hour running off the treadmill. Taranger has submitted his documentation to the Guinness Book of World Records and is waiting for their confirmation.
He concluded by saying:
I will definitely do it again. I had my best 24 hours of my life!
What is your longest distance ever on/off the treadmill? Will you try to run 24 hours? Share with us your thoughts!
