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Health & Fitness

Guinness World Record-Breaking Attempt for 'Inverted Stair-Walking' Set for May 3 at Patriot Place

Norwood native Mark Kenny to take aim at besting his "Inverted Stair-Walking" world record on Saturday, May 3, on the NRG Plaza staircase at Patriot Place.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – On Saturday, May 3, Patriot Place will host Guinness World Record holder and Norwood native Mark Kenny as he attempts to break his own “Inverted Stair-Walking” record on the NRG Plaza staircase adjacent to the Gillette Stadium ticket office.

Kenny, 49, holds the current record for fastest time (34.83 seconds) to walk down a five-story flight of stairs (77 steps) on his hands and has appeared on numerous TV shows, including “Late Night with David Letterman,” “Live with Regis and Kelly,” “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” and “Guinness World Records Primetime.”

Kenny says he has wanted to be in the Guinness World Record book since he was a kid growing up in Norwood and after plenty of practice – and balance - accomplished his goal in 1995 en route to becoming known as the world’s best hand walker.

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“I started out walking on my hands as a kid just for fun,” Kenny said. “It turned into a great workout when I was a wrestler to build strength and balance. I’ve continued to do it as a form of exercise and set the original record in Philadelphia on the stairs made famous by the Rocky movie.”

With various hand-walking records in New York and Philadelphia, Kenny said he chose Patriot Place as the site of his latest record attempt after a recent visit to the shopping, dining and entertainment destination.

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“When I saw the stairs at Patriot Place, it looked like the perfect place to do it,” said Kenny. “Then we counted the steps and it was the exact number needed for the record. I’m excited to try and better my record at a place accustomed to hosting record-breaking performances at Gillette Stadium. It should be a lot of fun.”

Kenny will begin his attempt at 12:15 p.m. at the top of the NRG Plaza staircase. The clock will stop when both hands leave the final step and are planted on the ground.

In addition to Kenny’s world record-breaking attempt, Patriot Place will be hosting the Hockomock Area YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day on NRG Plaza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free community event encourages kids to be active through a variety of activities, including obstacle courses, knock out basketball games, family boot camp and fitness classes, Y camp activities, arts and crafts and much more. Prizes, raffles, coupons, goody bags and YMCA passes will also be part of the day.

“Our Healthy Kids Day helps reinforce the importance of our Healthy Futures initiative and will encourage kids and families to keep their minds and bodies active, and ultimately living healthier lifestyles,” said Ed Hurley, president of the Hockomock Area YMCA. “We’re grateful to Patriot Place for partnering with us to host this event and are proud to be collaborating with many of our community partners and organizations. We look forward to welcoming kids and families for a day filled with fun and creative healthy activities for everyone.”

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