In the ten years that running.COACH has been around, the company has been involved in several interesting projects. These include the 24-hour treadmill world record (2011) and the 50km treadmill world record (2020). At the end of May this year, another great project was added with the 12-hour golf world record of our Golduser Jürg Randegger.
In 11 hours and 22 minutes, Jürg Randegger played 252 holes of golf on foot, covering an incredible 93 kilometers. This corresponds to a pace of 7:20min / km. For comparison: At the Bieler Lauftagen (100km) he would have placed himself clearly in the front half with the running performance alone – and yes, by the way he also hit the golf ball 1348 times.
For a little more than five years, Randegger has been playing speed golf, the combination of running and golf, in addition to normal golf. A kind of midlife crisis gave him the idea for the world record, says the 44-year-old from eastern Switzerland. The goal was to beat the official/Guiness (221 holes) and the unofficial (245 holes) world record in “playing as many holes of golf as possible during 12 hours – on foot.” He was aware from the start that this endeavor would require not only technique with the ball but also a lot of stamina, which is why he saw the biggest challenge in preparing his body as well as possible for the upcoming ultra-distance within a relatively short period of time.
In his search for a coach, he came across running.COACH last winter and then began to plan his training with the help of gold coach Ole Srocke. The core aspects of each training block were worked out together and reviewed weekly.
Despite the good preparation, after seven hours happened what almost every ultra runner can sing a song about: hitting the wall. Not with the golf ball, but on Randegger’s physical condition: “I tried to get myself into a rhythm mentally, but it didn’t really work out because I had to stop again all the time and hit the stupid golf ball… But the thoughts of the months of training, the uniqueness of this event and the many supporters on site helped, so somehow I bit my way through. And after 9 hours when the records came into sight, it (almost) became easier again.”
Then, after 10 hours and 59 minutes, he had done it. The record of 245 holes of former US professional baseball player Eric Byrnes had been surpassed. Since the weather and energy did not encourage to take advantage of the full 12 hours, Randegger ended the successful world record attempt after the completion of the 14th round and 252 holes played.
With his extraordinary performance, the man from eastern Switzerland not only secured a Guinness World Record, but also collected over CHF 8,800 for the benefit of Special Olympics Switzerland.
The running.COACH – Team congratulates Jürg Randegger for this great achievement. We are proud that this great action could also carry a touch of running.COACH.
Video from World record day: