Thomas Gounley is a Senior Environmental Conservation and English Journalism major. Although he lives all the way in Virginia, you have probably seen him right here on campus, participating in something dubbed “joggling.” In fact, Thomas even joggled in the Boston Marathon! After the big event, he answered some questions exclusively for Her Campus.
What exactly is joggling?
Joggling is the sport of juggling while running.
Is this a term you invented, or did it already exist?
No, people have been joggling since the 1970s, but they are very few of us who do it.
How long have you been doing this? Where do you do it most frequently?
I started last May. I do it around campus fairly regularly, and sometimes I go to local trails for long runs. I still do plenty of running without juggling too.
(So relaxed he can eat while he juggles!)
How did you get into this hobby?
Over winter break of my junior year, I decided to try and get a Guinness World Record before I graduated. I came across the record for the fastest time to joggle 50 miles, which is currently 8:23:52. I figured I had a shot at beating it, since I learned to juggle proficiently in middle school and I’ve run four half marathons, three marathons and 50 and 62 mile trail races while in college. I’ll make the attempt on May 12.
I hear you competed in the Boston Marathon, can you tell me more about this?
I decided to joggle the Boston Marathon this past Monday, April 16, as training for the 50 mile attempt. I think I was the third qualifier in history to run it while juggling. The race went pretty well, especially given the extremely hot temperatures. I finished in 3:52:33, and juggled the entire time. The crowd was awesome, and really got into cheering me on, which was cool. Oh, I also ran with a Twitter hashtag temporarily tattooed on my chest, in order to become the first person to run a marathon with their own hashtag. The hashtag was #MeatHouseJoggler, since I was sponsored by The Meat House, a neighborhood butcher shop chain based in Manchester.
What kind of skills does joggling require? Is it easy to learn?
It’s easier than people think. You need to be a confident juggler, but you can learn that in a couple weeks. Then you just combine it with running – it fits in pretty well with the natural movement of running.
Keep your eyes peeled to see Thomas joggling around campus! Good luck on beating the Guinness World Record, Thomas!