It’s pretty much official: local resident Steve Hirst has passed the previous best to secure the Guinness World Record for the longest mower push in 24 hours.
Apart from some painful toenails, aching feet, stiff legs, and tired eyes, he feels great.
“I got 107.5km in 24 hours, so I beat the world record, I got over the line at 1.57am this morning,” Mr Hirst told Sunshine Coast News on Saturday.
“It feels awesome, to be able to do that.”
The previous record was 92.8 kilometres, set by Englishman Andy Maxfield in 2019.
“After I got to 92.8 kilometres, I had a quick break and a shower, and then I sort of backed it off a bit,” Mr Hirst said of his final additional kilometres.
“This is one of the toughest things I have ever done but I felt really comfortable after reaching the halfway mark of the previous record after seven hours.
“All the physical training and recovery work I did over the past few months has certainly paid off, along with the outstanding support team lead by Paul Morton and Louise O’Keeffe from IFYS.
“My biggest concern was letting people down – I had obviously some great sponsorship, and in the back of my mind, I was thinking, ‘It’d be really terrible if I didn’t get this world record now that everyone has been so cool and supportive’.”
Thankfully, his determination pulled him through.
“My toenails are not in good condition; next time I go for a world record, I’ll aim for something that only takes 15 minutes to achieve,” he said with a laugh.
“I was also blessed with some great weather and some ripping tunes and podcasts which kept me going well into the night and the following morning.
“I’m pleased to have it done and dusted and I’m looking forward to showing my son Kobe in the next edition of the Guinness Book of Records.”
The event doubled up as a fundraiser to generate $70,000 for a new bus for community support organisation IFYS, a goal that was also achieved with some last-minute input.
“Deano from Cricks came to the party as well, so they’ve got the keys to a brand-new Volkswagen Transporter, which is awesome.”
Mr Hirst’s sponsors for the event included Cricks Sunshine Coast, Queensland Easy Building Solutions, Sunshine Coast Hotels, Big Kart Track, Sajen legal, The Big Mower, Go Transit Media Group, Performance Physiotherapy, Sea FM and Southern Cross Austereo.
It’s now a case of waiting for Guinness World Record officials to finalise the detailed paperwork.
“We’ve ticked all the boxes for what they were after, which was quite a lot obviously … I’m not sure how long it takes before they come back and say, ‘Yep, you’re all good, the certificate is in the mail’.”
For more information or to make a donation, visit: 24 Hour Mower Challenge
Read our previous story: A cut above the rest: Coast man eager to mow down Guinness world record for a good cause
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