Marist minister attempts to beat record with 36 hours on a swing
Employee aims to raise awareness of school's National Day of Service
The most challenging part of swinging for 36 straight hours is not the physical fatigue, the sleep deprivation or the extraordinary tedium.
What's most difficult, according to the Marist High School campus minister who accomplished the feat last week and in so doing possibly broke a Guinness World Record, is the nausea.
“It's the movement,” said Patrick Meyer, who performed the wacky feat to raise money and awareness for the Marist National Day of Service. “I've had waves of motion sickness, and you just got to fight through it.”
Meyer, a 2010 Marist graduate, is in his third year as a campus minister, planning retreats, mission trips and service projects for students at his alma mater. He took on the challenge as a way to help defray the price tag that comes with completing the Mount Greenwood school's service project with Feed My Starving Children in March.
“(Feed My Starving Children) is going to come here and we're going to package 100,000 meals,” Meyer explained Friday, in the midst of his 34th hour of suspended swaying, the seconds ticking down on a digital countdown clock.
“I wanted to think of a way that we could raise money and awareness for the day,” he said. “And I came up with beating this world record.”
Meyer said he briefly considered taking a shot at besting “the longest duration on a teeter-totter,” until he learned it would've had him see-sawing for more than 126 hours. Instead, he settled on breaking the swinging record, which would take him only a day and a half.
“I've always liked to swing, and it seemed pretty achievable,” said Meyer, who trained in the days leading up to the world record attempt by swinging at local parks for progressively longer intervals.
When it came time Thursday morning to embark on his toughest and most time-consuming swinging effort, he was ready.
Meyer pushed off at 7 a.m. on a custom-made two-person swing set that he, Marist's chaplain and its director of campus ministry built just outside the school's Red and White Stadium.
The makeshift pen that surrounded Meyer as he swung was decorated with Marist banners, signs of encouragement left by students, a Marist-branded countdown clock, a chart that tracked his progress and two rolling video cameras for documenting his achievement.
A steady stream of students, faculty, friends, family and local politicians visited Meyer over the next two days to offer words of encouragement and swing alongside him. The Marist cheerleading team, choir and band all treated him to performances, and teachers brought their students to visit him between classes.
By the time the Daily Southtown caught up with Meyer — when he was 34 hours in and on the home stretch — he was in high spirits despite a sore posterior.
“I'm feeling good,” he said softly, grasping at his lower left leg, which was crossed over his right. “I mean, there were a couple hard hours, but I've got a lot of supporters, a lot of fans, and they helped.”
Colleen Pochyly, the head of campus ministry at Marist, said there were never fewer than 10 people keeping Meyer company throughout his record-setting quest, even during the chilly period overnight when the temperature dropped to 41 degrees.
“All last night, it was freezing and really damp,” she said. “That second swing was never empty.”
Pochyly, who was by Meyer's side for all but the three hours she spent sleeping on a couch in her office, said her colleague's unique pursuit united the school.
“The kids, the faculty, all the different areas kind of all came together to support this,” she said.
Without their efforts, Meyer said, he couldn't have persevered through the exhausting undertaking. “The Marist family is really large, and to see everyone come and support me, whether it's through donations or whether it's through coming out here or wearing a ‘Swing Squad' shirt, it's really been very supportive and inspirational,” he said.
In the coming days, a video recording of Meyer's world record attempt, along with witness statements and a log book will be submitted to Guinness, which will decide whether or not his attempt was successful.
As of early Friday evening, the young campus minister's stunt had brought in more than $15,000 in donations, which will go a long way toward covering the $22,000 cost of purchasing and shipping food to starving children and families throughout the world.
Junior students will bear the remainder of the cost necessary to meet the school's pledge to Feed My Starving Children, a Christian nonprofit that sends hand-packed meals to malnourished children in nearly 70 countries, including many where the Marist Brothers have a presence.
On March 29, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Marist Brothers, Marist High School will join all Marist schools across the country in holding a day of community service during which students will assemble the meal packs that Feed My Starving Children will then distribute internationally.
“This experience has been great. It's been completely worth it,” said Meyer, as the countdown clock approached one hour. “We've raised so much awareness and funds — not just for the 200th year anniversary of the Marist Brothers, but also just for Feed my Starving Children.”
Asked about his post-swinging plans, Meyer answered without hesitation. “Go to bed,” he said. “I haven't slept in all 36 hours.”
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