Rebecca Manzi Gabrielle Wall set a Guinness World Record by running 100 meters (328 ft) barefoot on Lego in Christchurch, New Zealand, finishing in 24.75 seconds.
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In Christchurch, New Zealand, Gabrielle Wall turned every parent’s nightmare into a Guinness World Record challenge: running 100 meters (328 feet) barefoot across a carpet of Lego bricks. She crossed the finish line in 24.75 seconds, cheered on by the crowd and powered by equal parts courage and pain.
She later described the ordeal as something like a “massage gone wrong”—a constant pressure interrupted by sudden spikes of pain whenever her foot struck the sharper edges. And yet, with sheer determination, she pushed through to the end.
Preparation that bordered on obsession
This feat wasn’t just a matter of recklessness. Wall had spent months preparing her feet for the torture. She went barefoot almost everywhere—at informal work meetings, at family weddings—gradually training her soles to endure more stress.
In her garage, she even set up a small inflatable pool filled with Lego bricks, where she practiced what she jokingly called “stomping sessions,” pressing her feet into the pieces as if she were crushing grapes. For the official attempt, safety wasn’t left to chance: volunteers carefully removed the most dangerous parts, such as the notorious Lego palm leaves, infamous for their sting when stepped on.
A family affair
The challenge was as much about family as it was about personal endurance. Her two children, aged 11 and 13, took on supporting roles—one as coach, the other as manager. Wall may have taken the record, but her son has already declared that once he turns 18, he’ll attempt to snatch the title for himself.
The idea itself was born out of something more intimate. After a serious health scare in the past, Wall wanted to add something extraordinary to her bucket list and decided to share the journey with her kids.
Lego: from toy to record-breaking tool
The attempt was made possible thanks to a partnership with Imagination Station, a New Zealand-based charity that uses Lego for educational projects. For this event, an entire van of bricks was delivered, then carefully spread across the track with the help of a blower.
In the end, with sore feet and a new world record to her name, Wall showed that even the kind of pain most parents dread can be transformed into something extraordinary. As she herself put it, “Every mom and dad who has ever stepped on a Lego brick deserves a medal.”
