Guinness World Record FIFA 15 Marathon Attempt This Wednesday

Special Effect help people with disabilities enjoy gaming. You can learn how by watching the video above. This Wednesday, I’ll be assisting fellow UK games blogger Chris Cook on a fundraising attempt to support Special Effect. He plans to break the Guinness World Record for Longest Videogame Marathon Playing A Football (Soccer) Game which currently stands at 48 hours and 5 minutes. You can donate to show your support for Chris and Special Effect here.

The marathon attempt will start on Wednesday 5th November in the afternoon and run until approximately 8pm Friday 7th November. As his expert witness for video games, I get the easy job of making sure that he’s actually playing the game. I even get to sleep while other people watch his hands. Cook, however, has to play FIFA 15 on an Xbox One controller for over 48 hours. He’s travelling down from Birmingham to do this feat at the gaming-themed Loading Bar in Dalston, London. I spoke to him about the fundraiser.

“Most people thought I was mad,” said Cook. “Some thought I might die (I hope not) but generally the response has been pretty positive. My son thinks it’s the coolest thing ever.”

As a former night shift worker, staying awake at odd hours is nothing new to him. “I’ve had some experience operating on very little sleep in the past so hopefully that will come in handy. Apart from that I’m hoping support from people around me and the adrenaline/fear of failure will get me through.

“Lucozade and Monster will probably be my go-to drinks. Guinness guidelines allow for 10 minutes of rest for every hour completed but ideally I want to keep stoppages down to a minimum mainly to wanting to not keep the support team any longer than I have to. They’ve donated their time to help me so I don’t want to keep them any longer than I need to. Also I have a train home booked for Saturday.”

The Voice of Experience

One of my friends, Ben Cordell attempted similar feats of gaming endurance back in 2011, gaining the world record for Longest time spent playing GTA IV by playing for two days straight and also achieving the Longest time spent at highest wanted level on GTA IV record. I asked him how he did it. “We did one or two 24 hour test runs under Guinness restrictions in the month leading up to the marathon which went well,” said Cordell. “I actually flew from Brighton to Edinburgh – where the marathon was taking place – the night before we were due to kick off. Rather than getting a good nights rest, we all went out for drinks and Chinese food. Not smart.”

“We also put a ban on all energy drinks and sugar until absolutely necessary. Both of these things will absolutely ruin any marathon event by either wiping you out with a sugar crash or getting you so tweaked by having to top up your levels that you feel ill.”

“Aside from feeling tired, the worst bit is when you start to feel grimy. I would always try and accrue 15 minute break blocks so I had enough time to go and change clothes and have a wash. I cannot stress the importance of this to anyone thinking of taking part in a marathon! If you’re going to be stuck in a room with a bunch of hot tech and people for a long time, things can start to get a bit ripe.

“You hit a wall with any marathon (we find it usually happens between 2am and 8am) and once you push through it you’re fine. Those six hours though are absolute hell and that’s when you really need to rally together to keep spirits up.

“When I finally did get some sleep, it was about 3 hours worth and it was standing in a Travelodge shower whilst [my friends] were in the other room watching The Terminator. We have no idea how I didn’t die and I don’t know why they didn’t question my 3 hour long shower.”

Get Involved

We would love for any of you to come along to Loading Bar in Dalston to watch the marathon attempt happen live and play against Chris Cook. If you can’t make it, you’re welcome to challenge him online if you have FIFA 15 on Xbox One – his gamertag is xixBlueWolfxix and you can reach him on Twitter at @GameKeysNow or @TeamGPN. If you can, please send a friend request beforehand so that everything is prepared.

The attempt will also be streamed live on Twitch for the full 48+ hours. Pop in and say hello from about 2pm, Wednesday 5th November.

Chris Cook is fundraising for Special Effect.

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