Ashwin Kalyandurg, medical student of Nova Southeastern University, considers himself to be ambitious and determined. His latest escapade is to break a world record: Traveling 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) in eight hours by walking only on his hands around the FAU track on Sunday, April 3.

Kalyandurg was a student at FAU High School, and wants to break the record on the FAU track as an homage to his training during his time at school.

When Kalyandurg was younger, two lifeguards at the community pool were showing off their skills and walking on their hands. They challenged then-adolescent Kalyandurg to do the same, but he was unable.

Kalyandurg has since stuck to a strict training regimen — from doing 10 pushups every time he enters a room to watching full television programs in the plank position — and has improved his hand-walking ability greatly.

“I go real fast,” said Kalyandurg.

He had to go through consistent strength training in order to successfully hand walk — and get his body used to balancing upside down. Kalyandurg practiced his balance by doing handstands in the shallow end of the pool, conditioning his body to get used to that position.

Special Kevlar gloves are also required to protect his hands during the hand walking.

“I needed a new pair of gloves, my old pair actually caught fire from the amount of friction while walking,” said Kalyandurg. “They were smoking. The gloves themselves were smoking.”

The current world record for hand walking is 5 km (3 miles) in eight hours, and it belongs to Sarah Chapman in the U.K., according to Guinness world records. Kalyandurg predicted 10 km in eight hours, a feat which he has already completed numerous times during practice.

“I broke the world record every other day for the past two weeks, so I’m not worried,” said Kalyandurg.

As for the current record holder, Kalyandurg said he has a lot of respect for Chapman, adding, “She’s a very sweet lady — I just want to crush her.”

At the time of writing, Kalyandurg is still looking for a club sponsor to help him to reserve the track at FAU next Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. — as a single student he would be required to pay $90 per hour to reserve the track.

“I want to bring the record home to the U.S.,” said Kalyandurg.

For more information, contact Kalyandurg at [email protected].

Tucker Berardi is a staff writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @tucker_berardi.