Walking on Broken Glass (Really)

A British man smashed not one, but two world records in a single weekend, continuously walking on broken glass for 29 hours.

Nigel Jardine, 60, first set out Aug. 16 to beat the standing record of walking a distance of 960 meters (about 3150 feet) around a circular path of broken glass in an hour. He beat that, walking a total of 1060 meters (3477 feet). Watch a video of his walk here.

Jardine – from Leeds, in central England – then decided to try something new. He walked on the shards of glass continuously for 27.5 hours, taking a break of just five minutes per hour. Total distance he walked: 30 km (18.64 miles). The time walked and the distance are another world record.

His choice of a broken glass record isn’t quite as crazy as it sounds. Jardine is a motivation coach, and often uses the glasswalk (though not, obviously, of the length he completed) to help clients overcome fears.

Jardine was aiming to raise £2,000 (about $3266) for Action for Children, a charity that supports vulnerable children. As a child, Jardine was abused mentally and physically. On his website, he describes his childhood as like "walking on eggshells." He told the UK's The Telegraph that the glasswalk "reflects a child's response to abuse: treading carefully, avoiding pain, not wanting to get hurt."

He did the walk on an octagonal circuit of glass in the function room of one of his favorite restaurants, Bageecha.

He told the Telegraph: "I'm used to walking on broken glass but I suppose the customers at the restaurant weren't used to watching someone do it as they tucked into their meals."

The only question is: Did the customers raise a glass – or break one?