Marathon Man

Not one to coast on his past achievements, Richard Rodriguez, 22, was riding high last week on the Florida Hurricane near Orlando. He already held four Guinness world records for roller-coaster riding, his first at age 18 with 104 hours aboard Coney Island's celebrated Cyclone. Now he was out for his fifth, this time on the Hurricane, which climbs and plunges along a 3,500 ft. course for two minutes at speeds of up to 60 m.p.h.

Rodriguez had trained for weeks, carefully strengthening his stomach muscles with daily sit-ups and pushups. Good thing, since he subsisted on pizza, tacos, hot dogs and vanilla milkshakes that were donated by well-wishers. Except for a five-minute break every hour, Rodriguez rode the whirlwind, passing the time by reading newspapers and catching naps. After 173 hours and 3,958 laps, he had set another record. Why does he do it? Said he: "It's like climbing mountains --because they are there. The first 15 hours are the toughest. After that, time and space come together."

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