A Ugandan environmental activist has broken the Guinness world record for the longest time to hug a tree.
Faith Patricia Ariokot, 29, attempted the challenge on January 16 when she wrapped her arms around a tree trunk for 16 hours 6 seconds.
Guinness World Records confirmed the record on Friday.
"The tree and I made it to the Guinness World Records website. Officially amazing. Plant a tree too," she said on a post on X, formerly Twitter, after the record was confirmed.
Third attempt
This was the third time within the span of a month that Faith attempted to set the record, as her camera failed to record much of her first attempt, and her second try was cut short due to a thunderstorm.
“My feet for over 16 hours straight were killing me,” she told the Guinness World Records.
“The tree with its rough surface cut into my skin and caused a lot of pain to say the least, and yet I had to keep holding on.”
Faith says that selecting a tree to hug for this record attempt “felt like picking a bridal dress”.
“The tree chose me, and it was like love at first sight,” she explained.
The challenge was meant to "encourage others to plant trees and to highlight the need for humans to protect them".
The record was not considered to be a marathon as it did not exceed 24 hours in length.
As such, Faith was not permitted any breaks – her arms could not be released from the tree at any point, and she was required to stand for the entire duration of the record attempt.
She hopes her achievement will inspire others to go out and plant a tree.
"I want to talk about love. Love for the planet. Love for the earth. Love for each other. There is no other planet we can ever call home," she is quoted as saying.
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