The idea of the Hockey Marathon is as crazy as it sounds. A group of 40 players are trying to set the Guinness record for the longest game of hockey ever played. Specifically, they’ll try to play hockey continuously for 248 hours (more than 10 days, if math isn’t your forte) in an attempt to break the current record of 246 hours and two minutes. The puck dropped on their attempt on Sunday, May 4th and they’ll skate through May 14th.
The event, held in the Chestermere Recreation Centre outside Calgary, is also trying to raise $2 million for the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
So, how is a 248-hour game possible? For starters, players will have 4-6 hour shifts. Those shifts make Jack Johnson’s average of 58 seconds a shift, a mark which led the NHL in 2013-14, look amateur. The players who are not out on the ice are still required to be at the rink, meaning they’ll sleep, eat and basically live at the arena throughout the record attempt.
Will this group be able to do it? Odds are good as some players involved in the record attempt helped set the 246-hour record.
Want to watch the Hockey Marathon unfold? Click here to watch it live. It’s not the fastest game you’ll ever see, but it’s not often you see players at the end of a six-hour shift.
(H/T Ottawa Sun)