The longest continual row in tandem for World Autism Acceptance Week

Last weekend, Jordan Williams and Isaac Kenyon, two friends from Great Britain, broke the World Record for the longest continual row in tandem on a Concept 2 indoor rowing machine for the lightweight men 20-29 category. The previous record had been 37 hours and 3 minutes, but Jordan and Isaac blasted past that time and finished at 48 hours to raise money for charity.

While Isaac has done a lot of rowing in his time, including rowing across the Atlantic Ocean in 2018/19, Jordan had never rowed before attempting this challenge. The plan to complete the challenge came started to form on 5 January 2022 and in the following 3 months, Isaac helped prepare Jordan by teaching him proper rowing technique, and giving him a training schedule to stick to.

The challenge not only required physical preparation, but also a mental one. Speaking about how they dealt with this, Isaac said “Sitting on a rowing machine for 48 hours can seem very, very out of reach and also not enjoyable at all, however, it’s all in the mindset and if you break it down mentally into manageable chunks.”

Once the duo passed 37 hours and 3 minutes, they knew they had already broken the record, but their focus was still on the 48-hour target. “I was super happy we made it this far and it took a lot of pressure off knowing that every oar stroke or time on the indoor rower from this moment forward was going to be extending the record.” A further boost came as they found out they had surpassed their fundraising target of £1,000 for the National Autistic Society.

The Concept 2 rules for records require that during the attempt, the flywheel on the rowing machine cannot stop spinning until they decide to end their record attempt, and that in a tandem attempt, both rowers must row for at least 40% of the time each. When one of them was not rowing, they would be doing some rehabilitation, including stretches and movements to reduce the lactic acid in their muscles, essentially preparing for their next shift. They would then try and take a short nap. Jordan described the hardest moments as “waking up after sleeping and feeling like a zombie for my next 2-hour stint!”

Jordan and Isaac were joined by friends and family for the final 30 minutes to cheer them on and celebrate with them. After completing the challenge, Isaac said “I was super chuffed that we did what we set out to achieve it was a lot of effort and determination and it paid off by setting a new world record!”

Finally, asked if they have any more challenges lined up, Jordan quickly responded with “Longest sleep after a 48-hour row!”

You can find out more about the challenge and donate to the National Autistic Society here.