When Jason first told me about the One Hour Long Cycle last year I thought he was nuts! Very few people can withstand 10 minutes of any exercise let alone 60 minutes of kettlebell clean and jerks. If there’s one thing this guy has its passion, a passion to help others, a passion to perform at the highest level and a passion for life. So really, it didn’t surprise me all that much.
While attending I held the honor of counting his reps, which was brutal in and of itself thanks to my good ol’ ADD. (Thanks a lot Nintendo.)
While counting his reps I got to see more than anyone else (less Jason of course) of his brutal hour of double clean and jerks with 20kgs, no less. It was amazing, but I wanted to get Jason’s perspective on his monumental achievement.
MM: Thanks Jason, for taking the time to answer some questions about your upcoming event.
JD: Of course!
MM: First off, what spawned the One Hour Long Cycle? How did you get this thing off the ground and how have you developed such a following for it?
JD: At first, the One Hour Long Cycle was just going to be something kind of silly and crazy that I wanted to do for my 35th birthday party. I had a big party for my 30th birthday but it was more traditional with lots of eating (monster potluck), drinking and dancing, and oh, did I mention eating?! Fun, but you always feel like a bloated sloth afterwards :)
For my 35th I wanted to do something challenging and much healthier! I had been reading a lot about some of the Russian kettlebell lifters and their impressive achievements. One man really stood out to me for his world-class mental toughness, Sergey Rachinskiy. Some of his feats were mind blowing to me. One of them being 5,555 repetitions of jerks with a single 24kg(53lb) kettlebell in 12 hours without setting it down. The man only took a little food and water in the 11th hour, while still holding up the weight of course. I was inspired.
I decided to try to clean and jerk(long cycle) 2 kettlebells for an hour without stopping for my birthday which was 5 months away at the time. It would be a party of suffering and awesomeness and I would invite friends, friends who would be weird enough to think it was a good idea and want to join me. Haa haa! At first I was going to use two 16kg(35lb) kettlebells, then later I figured "hey maybe I should just work even harder so I can use two 20kg(44lb) bells?!" Me and my bright ideas. After coming back from the 2010 IKSFA workshop (thank you Aleks!!!) in St Petersburg, our 1st of 3 trips to Russia, I was focusing on unlearning poor lifting habits and pounding the new efficient ones into my body. Rep after rep after rep....you get the picture. I was more motivated than ever for my birthday because I'd invited IKSFA coaches Sergey Rachinskiy and Sergey Rudnev to join in the fun and they agreed!! "Chu-Hi!" I thought to myself.
I was now thinking that I could do something greater with this crazy One Hour Long Cycle thing than just have it be for a birthday celebration. I was actually outside one Sat morning, training my student Shermayne Shepherd (having her do Prowler intervals, you're welcome Shermayne) when it hit me! "Why not make this a charity event?" I asked myself. Boom! Done! It was on! I now just needed to choose a charity. I went with Children's Hospital Los Angeles. I had worked with them many years before as a camp counselor and archery instructor at a Ronald McDonald House summer camp in Idyllwild CA. I had always wanted to give back to them for such an amazing experience. As the months, weeks, and days grew closer to the event, I would share with my friends, family and fellow lifters how my training was coming along. Telling them about how I broke 30 minutes or 40 minutes for the first time. Or how I failed after just 18 minutes one day because my mind broke after realizing I still had 26 minutes left to go. Or even about my methodical process of duct taping 1 or 2lb weights to the bottom of my 16kg's in order to safely "sneak up" on the 20kg's. Bla bla bla, I talked quite a bit about it. Ha haa! Yet more people seemed to listen, really listen. Many became interested and some even committed to the event as lifters or as observers to support. I thought it was wonderful! I felt in my heart that this event would be special, that it would move people. I knew this would be the first of many.
There were 20 lifters and dozens of supporters in the audience on the morning of Oct 23rd 2010. I turned back to face all of my brothers and sisters who stood behind a bell, "We lift for the children!" I shouted. It was 11am...it was go time.
MM: That’s a true kettlebell-nut’s birthday celebration!
In regards to the challenge you already went through what was going through your head before you started? An hour is a long time to do anything and double clean and jerks is no easy feat. Were you nervous at all?
JD: To be honest, I wasn't really that nervous until about 10 minutes before we started. I had trained diligently for 5 months and had reached the 50-minute mark with the 20's the week before. I felt like my chances to finish were pretty good. I think I was more concerned about the effort it took moving the four 800lb mats across LA the day prior with John Buckley and Sha Ali, yikes! Or about whether or not the peanut butter and honey sandwich I had for breakfast was going to push me through the 60 minutes. My good old hiking food of choice! Sometimes you just gotta go with what you know :) This was not going to be a 10-minute set. It was going to be "different, but more"(in the words of Milosh).
Something else happened just minutes before the lift began that gave me an energizing burst of emotions. My Mom and Dad were in the same room, at the same time, and talking to each other. They were smiling. This was the first time they had spoken face to face in over 10 years. I always thought it would have been either my or my brother’s wedding for this reunion to happen. I couldn't believe it! The kettle did it! It was going to be a good day. We started the lift, I cleaned the bells, and I looked straight at my good friend Marcus Martinez, as if I was searching for an expression of reassurance on his face and conviction in his eyes. I saw them both. Thank you, Marcus. I jerked the bells. I watched Marcus' thumb click the pitch counter for rep number one. I was in the zone.
From that moment on I didn't remember much. I do remember a few things. I remember my 6 breath cycles in the rack. I remember the feeling of sweat running down the back of my knees, down to my ankles (awkwardly irritating). I remember hearing the first "Boom Chu-Hi" from the audience to our left. It was my brother Damon, who I love more than anything on earth, period. I remember glancing to my right to see if Sergey Rudnev aka "Rude Boy" was still periodically watching me in between sparking his pitch counter at mach speed for Rachinskiy, who would break his own world record that day! After the event had ended, I would ask Mr. Rudnev if he would take me on as his student. He said yes, he told me that I had earned it. I remember hearing the breathing of Estella Hom, who was mashing up the kettle just to my right. I remember just at the 30 minute mark my buddy Tom Corrigan hollered "Just 5 more minutes guys!", referring to the half way point in a kettlebell sport 10 minute set. I thought that was cool. I remember closing my eyes several times and doing my best to imagine taking a nap between reps. I remember "Minute 46". That was the most brutal minute of the hour. I wobbled and swayed, even took a step forward to catch my balance. I was physically tapped out. I had nothing left. I saw Marcus stand up and throw some bells and his chair out of the way. Holy crap! This guy was willing to try to catch me and a pair of falling bells in case I went down. Beers on me again for that one, Marcus! 14 minutes left on the clock. It seemed so far away; so unreachable. All this training, all this preparation, all these people lifting with me, and all my family and friends in the crowd! Was I going to fail or finish? I was nervous, and even embarrassed for pausing for so long in the rack. Rachinskiy has lifted a kettlebell for 12 hours straight! "Come on J!” I told myself. I had to do it for the little guys who call the Children's Hospital their home. I had to!
As minute 46 came to a close, I clearly heard something that hit me deep in my soul. A commanding voice from behind me on the right shouted "Dolby! Hit the one in the middle!" It was my brother, John Wild Buckley. It was as though he was inside my head and knew exactly what I needed to hear. Anyone who is even half a fan of the Rocky movies knows just what that line means. My heart swelled with courage. I looked at the clock; it had just clicked to minute 47. "3 minutes left till' I'm home free", I thought to myself. You see, in my 5 months of preparation for this day, I always knew that once I only had 10 minutes left I was sure to finish. I was psychologically un-tethered; I was home free. I gave the last 10 minutes everything I had. Everything! There was not a drop of surrender in my blood at this point. Plus I was rocking out with an awesome headband, and hello??...It's a headband. Everyone knows you can take on the world when your forehead is sporting one of those bad boys. One minute left on the clock, the crowd is screaming for us all, (holy crap I'm getting all emotional typing this sentence) this is it, we are all really going to do this, and we’re all going to finish! 30 seconds left. I pick up my pace, my fingers want to let go but I refuse. The last clean, the last jerk. The buzzer sounds. Wow!
I set the bells down, folded over, hands on my knees, desperate to catch my breath. I then felt a body forcefully crash into me from the left. Hard! "I don't remember inviting Brian Urlacher to the party!" I thought to myself. The same "linebacker" that blind-sided me was also the same guy who saved me from hitting the floor. I looked up and it was my brother Damon, crushing me with a victorious grizzly hug. Nobody else could have been more perfect for that moment. I will never forget it. A split second later I feel another hit, boom! It's Buckley, then another, my Dad, my step-dad, my Mom, clients, friends! It was truly amazing! I was able to make out enough detail, through the tears, sweat and chalk in my eyes, to see the whole room filled with lifters, families, friends and reporters all embracing in hugs and sharing the moment of jubilation. I had only witnessed this type of scene in the movies before. This was epic; this was real. Rachinskiy's tally: 915, my tally: 262, everyone's tally who donated, supported or lifted: Infinitely awesome! We raised just about $2,600 for the children's hospital. I was so proud!
After cleaning up the gym (Thank you Center Street!) and thanking everyone, the mission was "Cheeseburgers and Chu-Hi!" True story. And it happened. "Oh Yeaaah!" (In the voice of Ritz)
MM: Damn, those are quite a few emotions you were going through you at that time. I don’t think people realized how much this meant to you.
I was definitely willing to catch you, although looking back at that I was definitely hitting the ground with you! How are you training for the 2nd Annual OHLC?
JD: For the second annual One Hour Long Cycle I am not training specifically for a certain goal. This year I will just be coasting through with a single bell, maybe a 20kg. My personal goal right now is focusing on achieving my candidate for master of sport (CMS) and then master of sport (MS) in the long cycle (clean and jerk) in Kettlebell sport. For me to train for a respectable performance in the 1HLC, I would have had to pull back on my training for my current kettlebell goals. Let's just say that I have some future plans and goals for my lifting in the 1HLC ;) The people to watch this year are Sergey Rachinskiy, Anistasia Koutsouras, John Harshman, and Jennifer Hintenberger, and of course Thomas Ritz (it's Thomas Ritz, guys). Also my friend Tom Corrigan is going to do something very brave during the hour (I'll let him share that with you).
MM: What is your big picture plan for the One Hour Long Cycle? Where do you see it going in the future?
JD: The plan is simple from here on out with the 1HLC. Bigger, bigger and bigger. I want this annual event to explode in popularity so that we can raise more and more each year for the chosen charities. Also my hope is that the 1HLC and similar events continue to create interest in kettlebell sport in the USA and around the world. Bringing people together to work hard in unison for a great cause can only create brotherhood/sisterhood and inspire cooperation amongst us in our small, but quickly expanding, kettlebell world.
MM: What makes the One Hour Long Cycle different from other kettlebell sport challenges that are held all over the world?
JD: In the 1HLC, there are no judges, flights, or fees. You just come lift for an hour with other big-hearted people. You can donate whatever is comfortable to the charity if you choose. It's the only event I know of where all people perform the clean and jerk without competing against one another. We all start and hopefully finish at the same time. If you want your reps counted you need to bring someone, ask someone, or count them yourself. The real objective is to just work hard together for those who need help more than we do. :)
MM: What are you holding the 2nd Annual OHLC for? Is it for charity and if so, which one and why?
JD: This year the event will be held to raise money for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami that recently battered Japan.
The reason we have chosen to donate all proceeds of this year’s One Hour Long Cycle to Japan, “Higashi Nihon Daishinsai,” the Eastern Japan Great Earthquake Disaster. On Friday, March 11, 2011, an undersea mega thrust earthquake with a magnitude 9.0, struck about 45 miles east of Japan’s Oshika Peninsula from an underwater depth of 20 miles. The earthquake was the most powerful to have ever hit Japan and actually shifted the planet on its axis by up to 10 inches and slid Honshu, the largest island of Japan, 8 feet laterally. The quake triggered devastating tsunamis, unleashing waves of up to 133 feet, in some cases sweeping up to 6 miles inland. In addition to being responsible for the thousands of lives lost, injuries, and individuals still uncounted for, the tsunamis caused a number of nuclear accidents and destroyed or damaged 125,00 buildings across the span of 18 prefectures.
Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan has mentioned this catastrophe to be the most difficult crisis Japan has had to deal with in the 65 years post WWII. The battered communities need all and any assistance they can get from the rest of the world right now. We have chosen to do our best to lend a helping hand, no matter how small, in the scheme of things that hand might be. We will do this as a united group of people, as one unit, as kettlebell lifters. We will work as hard as possible and bare all that we can, for 60 minutes, for a great cause. Come join us in lifting in and or donating to this year’s One Hour Long Cycle.
Our good friend Nazo was trapped in Japan during the natural disasters. She wrote a heartfelt blog entry while dealing with the crisis. It’s titled “Nazo from Tokyo”. The link is below, and I would highly recommend reading it.
http://orangekettlebellclub.net/2011/03/18/nazo-from-tokyo/
MM: What do you hope participants and spectators will take from this event?
JD: From the one-hour long cycle 2011, I hope that people take home with them a feeling of camaraderie and joy. I hope they will remember how hard they worked to make someone's life somewhere a little easier. I hope they will remember it for the rest of their lives. I hope they tell everyone they know about what they accomplished.
MM: Thank you for your time Jason and I wish you and the OHLC the best. The second annual OHC will be held at Innovative Results in Costa Mesa, California on October 22nd. For more details check out:
JD: My pleasure man! Just happy to spread the word.
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