As if a marathon isn’t already tough enough, the 42-year-old Dutch Danny Da Graca decided to cover 42.2 km by doing lunges. With this impressive achievement, the athlete noted a new Guinness World Record. The former soccer player started his challenge in the Dutch city Rotterdam and then “lunged” his way to the next city: Breda. To prevent his muscles from cooling down too much, Da Graca took almost no breaks. Still taking a few minutes of rest into account, he completed the marathon in 9:33 hours.
The idea to “run” a marathon in lunges took shape during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. A friend had challenged Da Graca to complete one km in lunges. Da Graca enjoyed the challenge so much that he decided to increase the distance. To do so, you need a strong mindset, Da Graca explains to local news outlet, Rijnmond: “It’s not easy to do lunges, not even for me. It requires perseverance. That’s why I recommend to try and appreciate the pain. I got sort of addicted to the feeling. According to my physiotherapist, lunges can’t do any harm to your body as long as you did a good warm up.”
That Da Graca was able to do this is even more special, considering he was forced to quit playing soccer due to cartilage wear in his right knee.
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