On a recent visit to Europe, Ashrita succeeded in breaking two Guinness World Records, despite gaining 7 pounds, (courtesy of Italian ice cream.)
Ashrita’s first record was for the most jumps on a pogo stick in one minute. Ashrita managed to break the record, completing 256 valid jumps in one minute, adding an extra 12 jumps to the previous record of 234. (This works out at over 4 jumps per second). The record was set to the backdrop of the famous coliseum in Rome.
Ashrita’s second successful attempt was in Munich, at the Impossibility Challenger event. This involved running a sub eight minute mile on stilts.
The Impossibility Challenger event is held annually in Munich and involves a diverse range of feats of self transcendence. Previous challenges have involved, the longest continual laughing, playing music for 24 hours non stop, and riding a bicycle the wrong way. Often the event attracts quite a few Guinness World Record attempts.
For an entertaining read of Ashrita’s battle against impossibility, Italian Gelato and pastries see his own blog entry – Worth the Weight
Arpan Deangelo shares some reminiscences of Sri Chinmoy’s running career at his 
