Moncton man chases world record in juggling while running a marathon

CTV National News: 'Joggling' to victory A man in N.B. is attempting to break a world record in an unusual sport called 'joggling,' that combines running and juggling.

He’s a runner, a juggler and now Jean-Marc Doiron finds himself joggling — and chasing a world record.

You can catch him during his lunch break running through Moncton while juggling three balls in the air, a hobby he picked up recently.

“Been so for a few weeks,” Doiron said.

The father is already used to multi-tasking.

“Just raising two kids, I think every parent knows how challenging that is. Just to fit in training, I’ve been doing on my lunchbreaks,” he said.

Currently, his eyes aren't just on ball-juggling, but on a world record — one he hopes to beat.

The world record for the fastest joggling marathon was set by Port Hope Ontario’s Michal Kapral in 2007. Kapral finished the race in two hours, 50 minutes and 12 seconds.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been seventeen years but it’s a tough one,” Kapral told CTV News on Wednesday.

“There’s a lot of suffering even though it’s a very funny sport. It’s really, really painful. So I wish him the best.”

Last fall, Doiron ran Toronto’s marathon without juggling in about two hours and 32 minutes.

“My initial calculation was if I can be in, like, 2:35 shape, then have the juggling and everything cost me about 10 minutes, I’ll be in the 2:45 range. That’s just kind of a rough estimate,” he said.

Doiron contacted the Guinness World Records and hopes to race in Fredericton’s marathon in May.

“I need to have a video of the full attempt so I’ll be running with a GoPro to my chest,” he said, noting that two witnesses, including the race director, must submit official witness statements.

He’s been in touch with another joggler in the Maritimes — Micheal Bergeron, who holds Guinness World joggling records for the half marathon, and 10 kilometre race.

“You can’t Google how to train for a juggling marathon,” Doiron said.

The secret is speed and consistency.

“If I drop a ball, I have to like pick it up, run back to where I dropped it. So if it rolls a bit I have to take a few steps back,” Doiron said.

For the joggler, it’s not all about the competition.

“It just makes people smile. It makes me smile and it’s like a fun thing to do,” Doiron said.