Michal Kapral tenderly reached down into a clear plastic bag to retrieve three soft juggling balls after finishing the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. As he pulled them out, one fell, hitting the ground with a soft pat. It was the first time the entire day one of the orbs had hit asphalt.

The 43-year-old had to chuckle as his sore legs bent to pick it up.

Earlier in the morning, over discarded water cups and perilous cracks in the road, past screaming spectators and distracting bands, Kapral juggled those three balls without dropping them once. He estimates that he executed more than 50,000 consecutive throws without making a mistake. This, while maintaining a 6:41 minutes-per-mile pace.

“It was the first time I have ever finished a marathon while juggling without dropping,” Kapral said while smiling. “It has kind of been a dream of mine.”

His finishing time of 2:55:25 broke the unofficial world record for fastest “no-drop” marathon while joggling—the small, yet competitive sport of running and juggling simultaneously. The achievement is not recognized by any official body, including Guinness, but is revered by the competitive joggling community.

“I started joggling 12 years ago, and have had the goal of finishing a marathon without dropping since then,” Kapral said.

It took him eight 26.2-mile tries over more than a decade to do it. In the meantime he’s accumulated a lengthy list of joggling accolades. He already holds thecurrent world record for fastest joggling marathon (2:50:12) and half marathon (1:20:40). Guinness allows for drops, as long as the runner begins juggling at the exact spot where a ball fell. Kapral dropped a ball twice during his successful world record.

The Toronto native is also the first joggler to score a sponsorship. Last year he starred in a national commercialfor Fairfield Inn & Suites. The hotel chain’s logo appears on his blue singlet and each of his three juggling balls.

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Still, until Sunday morning through Chicago’s crowded streets, the no-drop goal remained elusive.

“I was trying to break my own world record and I was just off pace at the halfway mark,” Kapral said. “When I realized that pace was going to be hard to maintain, I backed off slightly and focused on not dropping.”

With each step, the pressure mounted.

Spectators and runners recognized Kapral and shouted at him. The wind began to gust.

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“There were a few times where I had to catch it with my fingertips,” Kapral said. “I got a shot of adrenaline.”

As he crossed the finish line on Columbus Street, the crowd gave him a raucous ovation. He stopped juggling on the mat and raised all three balls above his head.

“That was the most stressful marathon I have ever run,” he said later. “I have never felt so relieved after a race.”

He grabbed a beer at the postrace party to celebrate. Which may be why, on a sidewalk near the finish line, a ball slipped through his fingers and tumbled to the ground for the first time that day.

“I did get buzzed,” he said while laughing.

Kit Fox Special Projects Editor Kit has been a health, fitness, and running journalist for the past five years.

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