THEY ran the equivalent of two full marathons, scored 1,387 goals and played for a total of 46 hours and 24 minutes.
These were the amazing statistics behind what is believed to be a world record for the longest ever game of five-a-side football, which took place in Shepherd’s Bush earlier this month.
Sponsored by Queen’s Park Rangers, 16 players took part in the unprecedented match at the Westway Sports Centre, raising more than £7,000 for the charity, Inspiring Futures: Uganda, at the last count.
The aerobic extravaganza was organised by recruitment consultant Tarran Kent-Hume, who was joined by coaches from the QPR in the Community Trust and players from across London.
Describing what it is like to play football for nearly two days solid, Tarran said: “The first few hours were pretty normal. You played for five hours then went off for two-and-a-half with rolling subs coming on and off. It started to become weird after about 15 hours - the pace slowed and you’re really struggling.
“At 3am after playing for 24 hours you are really battling with sleep deprivation and your body feels really weird and it becomes about trying to trick your body into believing it can still go on.”
Eventually the players called time after nearly 47 hours when several fell victim to injury. It was short of their 72-hour target but still broke the record by three hours. Unsurprisingly, all of the participants - or nearly all of them - needed some time to recover.
“I actually had to run a half marathon three days later which wasn’t a lot of fun, and it’s taken me about two weeks to feel normal again,” said former footballer Tarran, from Tasmania, Australia.
He said he came up with the idea for the record-breaking attempt when he bumped into the two founders of the charity at a pub. “I liked the fact they want to give African children a brighter future and, as we were talking, a football match was on in the background, and it just clicked,” he added.
*To donate to the cause visit www.gameforafuture.org
