WORLD
Brazilian runs on treadmill for 24 hours, sets record
The 35-year-old took only short breaks to change his shoes or go to the bathroom.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) — A Brazilian man with a penchant for sporting records on Thursday broke a new one after tackling the most boring physical challenge he could dream up: running on a treadmill for 24 hours.
Pepe Fiamoncini ran 188 kilometers — more than four marathons — on a treadmill at an open-air gym on Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema beach.
Once validated by officials, who watched the challenge via live stream, the feat will earn him a third Guinness World Record (GWR).
The 35-year-old took only short breaks to change his shoes or go to the bathroom.
“I define myself with one word: curious. I’m curious about my abilities,” Fiamoncini told Agence France-Presse.
He said he started doing sport during the Covid pandemic, when he signed up for an Iron Man, a long-distance triathlon, which he saw as the “pinnacle of human capacity.”
After conquering that he did an Ultraman — more than double the distance — and set his sights on GWR.
The first record he broke was in May 2023, when he crossed the Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia, covering 170 kms in a little over 33 hours.
The vast white expanse sits at 3,600 meters above sea level, with extreme temperatures ranging from 30°C during the day to -10°C at night.
The previous record was 55 hours.
Having conquered such extremes he sought to challenge his mental limits.
“So I thought, what’s the most boring thing I hate? ... Running non-stop in the same place.”
In October, Fiamoncini set his second Guinness record when he ran 110 kms in 12 hours on a treadmill as a warm up for the challenge he finished Thursday.