Is he hopping mad? Penkridge man to complete Manchester marathon on pogo stick

The Penkridge student is doing it all for charity, but hopes also to get his name in the book of Guinness World Records.

Currently the longest distance completed on a pogo stick is 23 miles, a feat achieved by American James Roumeliotis in 2012. Jack, 24, hopes to smash that record in this weekend's marathon and has already managed 15 miles in training, which took five hours.

Money raised will go to Alzheimer's Research UK and the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, the latter being the official charity of the marathon.

And Jack is even managing to tie the challenge in with his university studies, as his dissertation at Staffordshire University is on extreme sports.

Ten top facts about the pogo stick:

• The pogo stick was patented in 1891 by George H. Herrington of Wichita, Kansas "for leaping great distances and heights".

• The modern pogo stick was invented by Hans Pohlig and Ernst Gottschall, from Germany, who registered a patent in Hanover in 1920 for a device they called a "spring end hopping stilt". It is thought that the beginning two letters in these men's last names is where the name pogo comes from.

• The longest marathon on a pogo stick is 206,864 bounces was achieved by American James Roumeliotis in July 2011. James bounced for 20 hours and 13 minutes.

• The most people performing synchronized backflips on pogo sticks is 13 and was achieved by the American Pogopalooza 10 Athletes in July 2013.

• The highest jump on a pogo stick is 2.9 metres (9ft 6in) and was achieved by Canadian Dan Mahoney in August 2010.

• The most apples sliced whilst on a pogo stick in one minute is 39, achieved by Ashrita Furman and Bipin Larkin, who are both from the USA, in August 2013.

• The farthest distance bouncing on a pogo stick in 24 hours is 33.37 km (23.22 miles), by James Roumeliotis in July 2012. James bounced for 14 hours and 32 minutes to achieve this distance.

• The farthest distance jumped underwater on a pogo is 512.06 m (1,680 ft) set by American Ashrita Furman in August 2007.

• There is a dance called 'The Pogo' in which the dancers jump up and down while remaining in the same location - the dance takes its name from its resemblance to the use of a pogo stick.

• Extreme Pogo or Xpogo is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks on extreme pogo sticks, defined as such by their durability and potential for height.