An Arizona man is attempting to break the world record for longest distance traveled on a longboard.
Jake Freed will be going 8,500 miles across the country; averaging up to 16 hours a day.
The trip will kick off in Gilbert. From the Valley, he is heading to Florida, up to Ohio and then back to the Grand Canyon State.
However, this isn’t Freed’s first long distance trip on a board. In 2013 he skated from Mesa to Washington, D.C.
“I just wanted to see if I could do it,” Freed said. “I wanted to push myself to the limit and see if I was actually capable of a feat this big. I have done my shorter trips in the past prior to my D.C. trip and they were always full of adventure and self-satisfaction.”
Freed said his trip to Washington, D.C. inspired him to push himself to go further.
“When I arrived in D.C. I thought to myself, ‘OK, so now what?’ I truly thought I could turn around and go back home then, but I already booked a plane flight and wanted to spend some time with family and friends on the east coast so I didn’t,” he explained.
However, his upcoming journey will be no easy feat. It took a lot of preparation which included planning, researching and training.
“I skated everywhere,” he said. “I trained in the gym five days a week, mostly doing cardiovascular workouts at an incline to get my body prepared to climb elevations and push for long distances at a time.”
Freed said he expects to finish the trip sometime in the fall.
The current Guinness World Record holder for most miles skateboarded is Robert Thompson of New Zealand. According to Freed, Thompson skated 7,555 miles and has held the record for the past decade.
You can track his skateboarding adventure on his blog or follow him on social media.
You can also donate to his expenses on the road, including money for food, hotels and clothing.
