Marc Murray from Blyth and Colin Pilcher from Consett achieved an extraordinary feat last summer, playing pool for 111 consecutive hours to reclaim their Guinness World Record title. Their marathon effort, which took place at a pool hall in County Durham, was validated by Guinness World Records last week, officially making them the holders of the longest pool-playing marathon.
The duo, who previously held the record following attempts in 2011 and 2013, raised over £8,000 during the event for the National Deaf Children’s Society and the suicide prevention foundation If U Care Share. Marc, the founder of the hearing equipment accessory company Hearoes, expressed his excitement: “It has been a long time coming, but we eventually got news last week that it is all approved, and we are officially record holders again. It took us 10 months to collate all the evidence, get it submitted, and Guinness had to look through it. It has been a while, but we are absolutely buzzing.”
Their challenge required them to play continuously, accumulating only five minutes of comfort break time for every hour played, allowing brief moments to eat but not to sleep. They aimed for 111 hours to surpass the previous record of 105 hours without having to endure a fifth night of play. Starting at 7 a.m. on a Tuesday, they played straight through until the following Saturday.
Reflecting on their achievement, Marc remarked, “It is a bit surreal to be honest. I cannot really believe that we did it.”
Since their marathon, Marc and Colin, who works for Durham Constabulary, have organized an exhibition event with professional pool player Carl Morris, who is deaf, adding £1,500 to their fundraising total. The pair first met playing pool and bonded over their initial world record attempt more than a decade ago.
