[imagesource: Kirsty Hatt]

The most gruelling decision I made last night was what to watch on Netflix, after a solid 10 minutes of scrolling through options.

Meanwhile, at the same time, South African trail runners Christiaan Greyling and AJ Calitz were breaking a Guinness World Record for The Greatest Vertical Distance On Foot in 24 hours, on Table Mountain’s Platteklip Gorge.

Over a period of 20 hours, Greyling and Calitz completed 14 ascents, with a total of 19 376 metres climbed.

The photo above shows the duo understandably chuffed after completing the 14th and final ascent.

The record had previously been held by 11 members of The Reek Challenge at Croagh Patrick in Murrisk, Ireland, on July 1 and 2, 2011, who combined for 18 086 metres.

Speaking once the record was in the bag, Greyling said it was a hard slog after fatigue set in, but there was no way they were stopping:

“We are absolutely delighted and overjoyed to have broken the world record for the most vertical ascent and descent, on a route that is well-known to us, Platteklip Gorge on Table Mountain, one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

It was one of the toughest days of my life with the added pressure of doing it in 20 hours because of curfew but my K-Way partner, AJ, was strong and motivated me to triumph in what was an achievement of two very dedicated teammates.”

Calitz, who also holds the Guinness World Record for The Most Vertical Height Gained in 12 Hours (10 257 metres), which he set on Table Mountain back in 2014, said the duo was broken, and called the achievement “nothing short of a miracle and a team effort”.

14 ascents of Platteklip Gorge on a single day – let that sink in.

Greyling says there were two main reasons for taking on such a feat of endurance: the pair are ultra-runners, and like a challenge, and they also wanted to raise awareness for Edunova, a non-profit focused on the effective use of technology in disadvantaged schools throughout South Africa.

Well played, gents – I hope today is pencilled in as a rest day.