Michael Bergeron gets his chance at Boston, wants to run 3:05 while juggling

Like many other Canadians on Monday at the Boston Marathon, Michael Bergeron will look to run in the vicinity of three hours for the world’s most famous road race. Though there’s (at least) one difference: Bergeron will be juggling the entire point-to-point course from Hopkinton, Mass. to Boylston Street in downtown Boston.

The Halifax resident, who will make his Boston Marathon debut, will be running and juggling, a niche division of the sport that’s been coined joggling. The rules are fairly simple: juggle three beanbags the whole way and if you drop one, you must pick the fallen item up, return to the drop and continue from there.

Monday will be Bergeron’s first joggling marathon; he has completed shorter road distances while juggling including half-marathons, 10K and 5Ks. (His best joggling half-marathon is 1:27.) He admits that the limited space at the start line will be one of the race’s difficulties. Another decision he will need to make before race day is whether to carry a fourth beanbag. (An extra beanbag would act as a replacement in the event that he loses one in the crowd.)

Bergeron, 27, is one of a number of Halifax Road Hammers members that made the trip to Boston from Atlantic Canada. (The Road Hammers is Canadian Running‘s Club of the Year for 2016.)

“Boston has been a dream for more than 10 years,” the multi-tasker says speaking at Copley Square near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Joining Bergeron on the Boston Marathon start line will be his girlfriend Jennie who has run the iconic road race multiple times in the past.

Canada’s Michal Kapral, a former editor of Canadian Running, holds the world record for fastest marathon while juggling (2:50:12). In October, he set a new milestone of a different kind: run an entire marathon without dropping any of his three beanbags.

Useful Canadian Running content for running the 2017 Boston Marathon

– Complete 2017 Boston Marathon coverage
– Course preview, race-specific tips and suggestions
– Boston Marathon jackets through the years
– A beginner’s guide to America’s greatest race
– Pre-race workout with Rejean Chiasson
– The excitement behind running Boston for the very first time
– Eric Gillis out of the 2017 Boston Marathon
– Boston Marathon shoes
– Pre-race interview with Rachel Hannah
– Michael Wardian set for Boston two weeks after the Barkley Marathons

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