Angus squash marathon man Mark James has smashed his way to another world record.
With his name already in Guinness’s famous record book, elite player Mark and Edinburgh squash pro Simon Boughton obliterated the record for the longest non-stop squash rally, easily passing the previous best of 1,000 shots to set a remarkable new benchmark of 2,526.
An enthusiastic crowd cheered them to success on the court at Edinburgh Sports Club earlier this month during the one hour, four minutes and 28 seconds of action.
The latest feat joins Mark’s 2015 successful record attempt in Montrose for the most consecutive squash matches played non-stop, and the 45-hour longest marathon match he completed at the Angus venue earlier this year.
But already the 50-year-old has his sights set on regaining one of those records after it was broken, and taking on a completely different and totally punishing challenge on Britain’s highest mountain later this summer.
Mark’s record-breaking exploits have already raised thousands of pounds for the Nyumbani HIV children’s charity in Kenya, and he said the latest success was probably the most satisfying in sporting terms.
“It’s total concentration, fitness and determination I guess, just focusing on the ball and nothing else,” he said.
“Out of the three records I’ve achieved, that was the one I really wanted. It was set in England four or five years ago, but in practice we knew we were capable of going well beyond that.”
Mark continued: “My first record for the most consecutive matches has been broken, so for Red Nose Day on March 24 I’m going to try to break it again.
“The world record is now 100 matches, which was done in Finland, so now I’m going for 150 and my intention is to play every elite Scottish team member, from 11-year-olds up to the Scottish internationalists.
“It will involve a huge amount of organisation and I reckon it will take me 25 to 30 hours,” Mark said.
As a distraction, the Montrose man is also heading to the hills for another major feat of endurance and willpower.
“This summer for charity I’m going to climb Ben Nevis ten times non-stop, with two ex-forces colleagues,” he said.