Michal Kapral facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michal Kapral
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| Born | 1972 (age 52–53) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Joggler |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Spouse(s) | Dianne Kapral |
| Children | 2 |
Michal Kapral (born 1972) is a Canadian athlete from Toronto, Ontario. He is famous for a sport called joggling. Joggling means running and juggling at the same time.
Michal holds amazing world records. He has the fastest times for running a marathon and a half-marathon while juggling. He also set a record for the fastest 10-kilometer run while juggling without dropping anything. He even used to hold a record for running a marathon while pushing a stroller!
Contents
Michal's Joggling Journey
What is Joggling?
Joggling is a unique sport that combines running with juggling. It was invented by Bill Giduz in 1975. The first official joggling event happened in 1981.
There are two main rules in joggling:
- A runner must juggle at least three objects all the time.
- If an object drops, the runner must pick it up. They then continue running from where it fell.
Michal first learned about joggling when he was 11. He saw the world record in The Guinness Book of World Records. He started running marathons after finishing college.
Early Marathons and New Challenges
Michal ran his first marathon in 1999. In 2002, he won the Toronto Marathon. This was his best marathon time ever, finishing in 2 hours, 30 minutes, and 40 seconds. Earlier that year, he was the fastest Canadian runner at the Boston Marathon.
In 2004, Michal tried something new at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. He set a world record for running a marathon while pushing a baby stroller. He pushed his daughter Annika and finished in 2 hours, 49 minutes, and 43 seconds. This beat the old record by over an hour! After this race, he decided his next challenge would be to run a marathon while juggling.
Becoming a Joggling World Record Holder
Michal quickly became very good at juggling. In September 2005, he joggled his first marathon. He did it to raise money for SickKids Hospital in Toronto. He thought he would only do it once. But he ended up setting a new marathon joggling record! He finished in 3 hours, 7 minutes, and 41 seconds. This was 13 minutes faster than the old record. This amazing result made him want to do more joggling.
Just two months later, another joggler named Zach Warren broke Michal's record. They met at the 2006 Boston Marathon. This was the first time two jogglers had ever competed in the same marathon. Michal kept trying and managed to get his world record back. He set his current marathon joggling world record in 2007. He finished in 2 hours, 50 minutes, and 12 seconds. He even chewed gum during the whole race!
For his first joggling marathons, Michal used balls and beanbags. For his record-setting run, he used special handmade beanbags filled with millet. In September 2006, Michal set another Guinness world record. He ran the fastest 10-kilometer joggling run without dropping anything. This happened at the Longboat Toronto Island Run. In 2014, Michal set the world record for the fastest joggling half-marathon. He ran it at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 1 hour, 20 minutes, and 40 seconds. He only dropped one ball during this race.
New Challenges and Achievements
At the 2015 New York City Marathon, Michal was not allowed to juggle. The organizers said his beanbags were a security risk. But he didn't stop there! In August 2016, Michal tried a "beer mile" while juggling. A beer mile means drinking four beers while running a mile. He finished this challenge in 8 minutes and 49 seconds.
In October 2016, Michal ran the Chicago Marathon while juggling. He managed to do it without dropping any balls! He finished in 2 hours and 55 minutes. This was his eighth joggling marathon. It was also his first time completing one without a single drop.
Michal used to compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in high school. In 2016, he said he planned to train to complete a steeplechase while juggling.
Michal in Film and TV
In 2011, a documentary film called Breaking and Entering was made. It was directed by Benjamin Fingerhut. The film showed people who were obsessed with getting into the Guinness Book of World Records. It also told the story of the rivalry between marathon jogglers Michal Kapral and Zach Warren.
In 2015, Michal was featured in a television commercial for Fairfield Inn.
Personal Life
Michal Kapral is married to Dianne Kapral. They have two daughters named Annika and Lauryn.
