It was a marathon effort to keep fit and stave off boredom amid the coronavirus lockdown in France.
Elisha Nochomovitz spent 6 hours and 48 minutes running 26.2 miles around the 7-meter balcony of his apartment in Toulouse on Tuesday, just as a 15-day nationwide ban on people leaving their homes (apart from essential outings) came into effect.
Video shared online shows the 32-year-old restaurant worker, who is currently furloughed from his job, running repeatedly up and down the small space. In all, he completed around 6,000 laps.
“I wanted to bring something playful to the containment,” said the seasoned marathon runner, who has 36 such races under his belt.
“I saw pictures of people going out of their homes for jogging. But if everyone does the same, we will all end up outside,” he told HuffPost France, noting how it was the first time he hadn’t been bothered about recording a lengthy time.
“Part of my goal was to kill as much time as possible,” he said.
With French authorities reportedly considering extending the lockdown beyond its initial 15 days, Nochomovitz said he was now mulling over his next stay-at-home challenge.
“How about another marathon to improve my record. Or a 12-hour home trainer session, on my balcony,” he said.