David Livingston Joggling Interview

We first heard of David Livingston when he contacted us about his attempt to joggle for 18 hours. The story generated a lot of interest and today we get a chance to ask him about his joggling life.

JYAJ – Tell us a little about yourself

My name is David Livingston, I’m 43 years old and live and work in Wooster, Ohio. My wife Stephanie and I have three boys (ages 14 and 12)(the twins are 12 if you can’t figure out the math). I am a computer programmer so I spend most of my hours during the work week parked in front of my computer.

JYAJ – What is the story of how you learned to juggle?

LIVINGSTON – My roommate in college taught me to juggle. He showed me how and then left. I spent hours and hours working with three rolled up socks over the bed (so I wouldn’t have to bend down so far and pick them up) until I finally got it. I have a juggling mime act that I have performed for about 15 years, but I am more of a hack than a professional. The audience is more entertained by my antics than by my juggling skills.

JYAJ – When did you start joggling?

LIVINGSTON – January 25, 2008 was the first time I tried to run and juggle at the same time. It didn’t go so well. The next time I only took one ball and figured out the rhythm by tossing it in an empty pattern. Then it was easy after that.

JYAJ – Why did you start joggling?

LIVINGSTON – I was looking for a new twist to challenge myself with at the local American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. A previous year I ran 100 miles in 17 hours and 40 minutes around the ¼ mile track, so I wanted something equally challenging but without the pressure to get to a certain distance. I attempted to joggle for 17 hours at the Relay on June 6,7 2008. I covered 45 miles in about 10 hours before I had to stop due to severe tendonitis in my left wrist. I’m glad I gave it a shot but probably won’t try that again.

JYAJ – How many races have you done while joggling?

LIVINGSTON – None yet (other than the Relay), though I hope to try both a 5K and marathon sometime in the near future now that I am in joggling shape. However, I have to wait for the tendonitis to get better first.

JYAJ – What are some of your favorites?

LIVINGSTON – I live in Ohio and am partial to Ohio marathons. I’ve done 35 marathons and all but one was in Ohio (Boston). My favorite is the Air Force Marathon because that is where I got my PR and I am a legacy runner at the Road Runner Akron Marathon (all five so far).

JYAJ – What kind of training do you do? How fast do you run?

LIVINGSTON – I usually run 45+ miles a week and have a 5K PR of 16:57 (Masters PR of 17:58) and a marathon PR of 2:59:06.

JYAJ – How long do you think you will keep joggling?

LIVINGSTON – Now that I know how and it is something I can do without thinking about much, I’ll probably try to do a few races each year joggling

JYAJ – Do you eat a special diet?

LIVINGSTON – No. My wife gets on me because I eat virtually no fruits or vegetables but I somehow get by and stay healthy while racking up over 2000 miles running every year.

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Thanks for the interview David and congratulations on your recent joggling ultra marathon feat. You’re an inspiration to people both in and out of the joggling world

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