Fitness
Fitness Training
How Mann Sharma achieved a world record burpee broad jump marathon
The fitness influencer from New Delhi discusses the months of preparation that went into him achieving something that no human had done before.
A casual shower thought led Mann Sharma to his biggest challenge yet.
It was a familiar endeavour in uncharted territory. It involved the humble burpee – dreaded by some for the tedium and pain it entails – yet an integral part of most people’s workout routine for its simplicity and effectiveness.
What Mann had in mind is perplexing to comprehend – he would target a burpee broad jump marathon; a continual effort over 42.195 kms from start to finish.
When he first envisioned it in November 2024, he was quite unaware of what it demanded in terms of preparation and exertion. The world record at that point was 5.1 kms. Mann was looking to go about eight times the distance.
Mann Sharma
© Focus Sports
But on 14th October 2025, the 22-year-old made the finish line in tears after a staggering 197 hours. His body had taken a battering. His mind tested unlike anything else he’d experienced in the past.
“It’s one thing to arrive at these ideas but quite another to execute them. During the early days, few understood why I wanted to attempt it, nor if I would be able to pull it off. But I needed to do something big for myself that nobody had done before,” Mann says.
Strong foundation
A decade of training in Europe to be a professional footballer created a strong foundation for Mann. Fitness became an integral part of his daily routine and once he returned home to New Delhi, he looked at means to explore the limits of his endurance.
He had ideas involving his daily gym visits – 2021 push-ups to mark the year 2021; 2022 handstand push-ups for 2022; and 2023 pull-ups for 2023. The leap year of 2024 was celebrated with a 29-hour burpee relay alongside seven friends on 29th February. At times, he stepped outside of his comfort zone to test his body, just like he did to ring in 2025 with a 100km run across the Indian capital city.
Mann Sharma during his burpee broad jump marathon attempt
© Focus Sports
These projects laid the foundation for his latest feat, though he realised what he was signing up for only once he did a test run, covering 5 kms through burpee broad jumps in 11 hours.
“It was torture and just thinking about it hurts because it was my first attempt at doing something of the sort. The idea was to see if I could handle the entire effort mentally,” he recalls.
Intensive training
As he prepared for his marathon burpee attempt, Mann started out with an hour of burpee broad jumps on two days of the week and increased the duration over time.
He distracted himself from the initial monotony by watching movies on loop, until he could sustain the effort for five hours. He put in several hours at the gym to focus on strength training and building core muscles, while he took a day off each week to recover through yoga, rock climbing or swimming.
“While it was low-mileage training to a certain extent, the focus was on building a solid base for the entire effort. Working on the glutes and hamstring was one thing, but I also gained strength in the tibialis in front of the shins, as well as my toes and fingers so that they landed perfectly. Alongside, I focussed on breathing and controlling my heart rate so I could sustain the effort for long durations,” Mann says.
Mann's training sessions in the gym
© Focus Sports
About 40 days before the start of his attempt, he took on another trial run where he experimented with the nutrition that suited him, the timing and proportion of his meals, and the rest and sleep pattern that helped best with recovery. Here on, he took time off burpees and worked only on strengthening his body further.
“You can never be prepared for something like this mentally. At one point, you just have to go ahead and get started,” he says.
One big push
At 2pm on 6th October 2025, Mann got his attempt underway at the JLN Stadium.
Though he was looking to finish the burpee broad jump marathon in eight days, there was no daily target in mind. The strategy was to cover a kilometre, which would take about two hours on average, and follow it up with a routine of rest before getting back to the burpees. This would be the routine until the job was done.
“It became a mental game after a point on how quickly I could finish a kilometre and take a break,” he says.
Mann's training sessions in the gym
© Focus Sports
The time off was as critical as the effort on the track. Mann would take a quick shower, followed by a light meal of chicken, rice, pasta or salad, complete a session with the physiotherapist to relax his muscles, and a short nap of 40 minutes. After a light warm-up, he would be back to making gradual progress towards the mammoth number he was chasing.
Over time, spectators trickled in and out of the stadium that was engulfed with Sufi music. It put Mann in the zone to focus on the demands of the effort. Despite the aches and pains, the question of ending the attempt never crossed his mind.
“I don’t think I was ready to hear, ‘Oh, you tried your best.’ It really tested my limits and there were times I couldn’t speak because there was nothing left in me. My blood sugar dropped one time and on the sixth day, I had excruciating pain in the liver due to excess water. The idea was to simply not give power to the problems I encountered,” Mann says.
Mann Sharma during his burpee broad jump marathon attempt
© Focus Sports
A hundred metres from the end, Mann asked those around him to make their way towards the finish line. He saw a sea of heads in the distance, cheering him on. Moments later, it was done, a hearty effort that took him 8 days and 5 hours, a record recognised by the World Book of Records.
“I felt calm and complete at the end of it. I really believe in the impossible now. And I know that I never had to go through that pain again,” Mann says.
