Las Vegas local sets world records for reason going beyond history books

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Las Vegas native Michael McCastle now holds the world record for most lunges in one hour and farthest distance lunged.

“It’s just about timing the pace, taking recovery when I needed to, taking longer breaks if I needed to, but just continuing on,” McCastle said. “Even if it’s five lunges at a time.”

WATCH | McCastle discusses his "12 Labors Project" with Alex Eschelman

The Navy veteran completed 4,769 lunges, more than four miles worth over a 20-hour time span.

"I would say out loud one more lunge, one more, one more.”

McCastle developed that “one more” mentality over the last decade of accomplishing what some might consider impossible.

“I ended up breaking the world record for the most pull ups in 24 hours with 5,804 pull ups while wearing a 30-pound pack, then I pulled a two and a half ton truck across death valley for 22 miles, I broke the world record for the longest full body submersion in ice so I sat in 600 pounds of ice for 2 hours and 40 minutes,” McCastle said, recounting some of his nine records.

Michael McCastle

These milestones are apart of what McCastle calls the, "12 Labors Project,” which is a mission where he performs record-breaking acts of strength and endurance to raise awareness for humanitarian causes inspired by his dad.

“He meant the world to me, he was my father, he taught me everything about being a man,” McCastle said. "Parkinson’s disease, veterans' mental health issues, cancer, so these are all issues that my late father experienced before he passed and having an intimate connection to those issues, I wanted to kind of use my gifts to bring up broader awareness for those things.”

Michael McCastle

Through his platform, McCastle has raised around $200,000 for various organizations, however, the lunging records are purely steps taken for his son.

“This is the first labor that I’ve done since having him, I’m a full time single dad so I wanted to show him that there’s no excuses, you know you can go and pursue greatness and things in your life and set these great goals that seem impossible, and still take care of your responsibilities,” McCastle said. “As a father or a husband or a partner, they can co-exist, if you have a strong enough purpose and belief in yourself, you can do anything and I really believe that.”

Michael McCastle

The Vegas native is unsure as to what his 10th labor will be. Right now, McCastle is focused on recovery, reflecting and being with family.