New WR for Fastest Fun-Runner on Earth

I met Chris Solarz more than a decade ago, back when the stock market crashed and legions of Wall Street bankers were turned out in the streets. I was writing an article for Inc Magazine about how these masters of the universe were handling their sudden joblessness. Chris' story stood alone: the day he was laid off, he found himself heading down on the elevator with his sad box of desk possessions in his hands, wondering what to do next. He could have gone on a bender; he could have started looking for work; instead, the East River caught his eye as he walked out the door, and in that moment, he decided he'd spend the rest of the year — and a good chunk of his savings — training to swim all 28.5 miles around the island of Manhattan.

Since then, he's bounced back from joblessness to become a successful and sought-after global investment expert while simultaneously setting records for:

*fastest circumnavigation of the entire NYC subway system;

*fastest marathon while tied to 4 other guys;

*most vertical feet run in 12 hours

*and other stuff I've lost track of.

But what I love is that no matter how insanely grueling the challenge Chris sets for himself, he always seems to be having a blast. Check him out here, after getting off a plane after an overnight flight and hopping right into a marathon in Brazil. He's the happiest guy on the street, maybe because it also gave him his latest world record.