Ring Fit Adventure speedrunning is a thing now

Ring Fit Adventure speedrunners are spending almost 24 hours working out, (and GamesRadar+ does not recommend trying that at home.) The world record holder is a Japanese speedrunner called Sakinyan, who ran through Ring Fit Adventure's campaign and beat the final boss in one heart-pounding 18-hour session.

You might imagine the scene following this extraordinary feat a sweaty, breathless affair with plenty of cheering, celebratory high-fives, and maybe a doctor or two. But as Vice reports, Sakinyan simply stopped the timer, dabbed her face, did some stretches, and then sat down and scrolled through her phone. No big deal.

While the difficulty setting was at its easiest, that fact is almost not worth mentioning due to the sheer length of time Sakinyan was running in place and performing various resistance exercises.

Another Ring Fit Adventure speedrunner, Adam "Ventifer" England, says the idea started as a joke and then quickly became what most of us would consider a nightmare. England holds the second-fastest record for speedrunning Ring Fit Adventure in 19 hours and 30 minutes. "I remember making breakfast that morning wondering how my day will be," England said. "I got as prepared as I thought I could be and started."

Ring Fit Adventure was praised upon release for its ability to make you sweat. As Sam Loveridge writes in GamesRadar's review, "it's a much more pleasurable experience than going down to the gym, but just as taxing physically. It's a genuine workout packaged in fun." What makes these speedruns so impressive is the fact that Ring Fit offers such effective workouts in short, 30-minute to hour-long sessions. Just thinking of a 20-hour run makes my lungs shrivel in fear.

Be sure to take breaks in-between Ring Fit speedruns and read about these exciting upcoming Switch games of 2020 and beyond.