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Canada’s Michal Kapral juggles entire Chicago Marathon with no drops

Toronto resident Michal Kapral juggled the entire Chicago Marathon on Sunday without dropping any of his three beanbags.

Toronto’s Michal Kapral juggled for the entirety of the Chicago Marathon without dropping any of the three beanbags. The world record holder for fastest marathon while juggling ran Chicago in 2:55:25, five minutes off his world-leading mark (2:50:12), on Sunday.

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Kapral, 44, went through the halfway point of the marathon in 1:25:13, which put him on pace to break his world record had he run the second half slightly faster than the first. He faded slightly in the closing stages but still ran safely under the three-hour barrier.

Sally Bergensen, the CEO and founder of Oiselle, deemed Kapral’s performance worthy of a “wow.”

There are certain rules to running a marathon while juggling, an act that Kapral calls “joggling.” One must come to a full stop at an aid station before continuing. If a runner drops a beanbag, they must return to where the drop occurred to ensure the full 42.2K are done while juggling. He estimates that 50,000 throws were done throughout the marathon.

Kapral’s juggling marathon world record was set at the 2007 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. He got into “joggling” in 2005 and has a non-juggling lifetime best in the marathon of 2:30. He formerly held the world record for fastest marathon while pushing a stroller. He’s also a former editor of Canadian Running.

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You may recognize Kapral from the below television commercial:

Other notable Canadian performances on Sunday include Tom McGrath’s 2:32 and Allison Drynan’s 2:48.

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