TORONTO, Ontario, Canada -- Jacqueline Sadler, 39, the music director at Eastminster United Church on Danforth Ave., played the church organ for a total of 40 hours, 36 minutes and eight seconds - setting the new world record for Longest church organ marathon.
The Guinness world record for the Longest marathon church organ playing lasted for 40 hr 3 min and was achieved by Michael Servant (Norway) at St. Mark's English Church in Florence, Italy.
Guinness World Records also recognized the longest marathon playing guitar by an individual: 100 hr by Guillermo Terraza (Argentina).
"I wanted to do a fundraiser for the music program and I wanted to do something that wasn't going to involve a lot of people … The choir is fabulous … but it's a lot of work for them to prepare a concert and I thought this was something that I could do myself," said Sadler. Fueled by coffee, tea, water, nuts, dried fruit, jelly beans, vitamins and a lot of support, she was able to make it through her marathon attempt.
Sadler credits the encouragement and support of "a great team of people" with helping her overcome the waves of exhaustion, which she likened to "that feeling that you have if you've ever had the misfortune of driving when you're very tired." The church held the event to raise money for its music program. Kerry Bowser, a minister at the church, estimates they collected almost $9,000 by the end of the marathon.
During her world record attempt, Sadler was allowed only a five-minute break each hour and 30 seconds between each song.   Each piece of music had to be at least two minutes long and songs could not be repeated within a four-hour period.  Sadler estimates she played well over 1,000 songs.