Chad Kempel is a super dad!
The father to quintuplets, and Eagle, Idaho, USA, native showed the world his daddy skills when he broke the record for the fastest 1 km pushing a quintuple pram (male).
On 29 July, Chad managed to push the quintuple pram a full kilometre in a speedy 5 minutes and 34 seconds.
During the record attempt, Chad’s eight-year-old Savannah, his seven-year-old Avery, and three of the five-year-olds, Noelle, Grayson, and Preston rode in the pram, while his two other children cheered him on.
“Since we had five babies at the same time, we needed a stroller that would seat five children, so we purchased the quintuple pram and since it has great wheels for speed, I decided to push the stroller while I was out for my jogs,” said Chad.
I saw an article about a mother who set a record with a triple pram and the idea for my records was born.
Although Chad and his wife Amy have five-year-old quintuplets, the children are past their stroller years but squeezed in to help their dad break the record.
Until the record attempt, only the quintuplets had ridden in the pram.
Chad says he began his elementary school years unable to run short distances due to not being in shape.
It made him feel bad about himself and he never wanted to feel that way again so he joined the wrestling team in high school and figured out that not only could he run, but he could run for what seemed like forever.
He’s been breaking through what he felt were his limits ever since.
“I’ve completed many marathons, an Ironman, and a 100-mile run,” said Chad.
“When my wife and I had children, it was inevitable that I would include them in the fun.”
But there was also a deeper reason behind why Chad wanted to attempt the fastest 1 km pushing a quintuple pram (male).
“My wife, Amy, and all my children inspired me,” he said.
“Nothing about life turned out like we imagined, and we didn’t know the challenges and heartache that we would experience along the way.”
Chad says Amy endured so much during their struggle to create a family.
She was pregnant a total of eight times to conceive their seven children and an additional five times which all resulted in miscarriages.
“Witnessing her going through all of that and still persisting and carrying our children was extraordinarily inspiring,” said Chad.
When I came across an article written about Ann Marie Cody and Teresa Marie Pitts setting Guinness World Records titles by pushing their children in triple strollers, their strength and the role models they are for their children gave me the inspiration to attempt a record of my own.
On the day of the record attempt, Chad and his family started the clock as the sun was rising, with crisp cool morning air blowing and birds singing.
Chad took off from his starting point with his kids cheering him on.
“Amy was recording video and my children Lincoln and Gabriella saw us off at the start and then ran across the grass to the finish location and prepared to hold a paper ribbon for us to break through,” he said.
“It was a challenging run but I knew instantly I was going to make the time needed for the attempt so I tried to take everything in through all my senses, knowing how far we all had come to make it to that moment and that this would be the last time I pushed that stroller with my children.”
As he rounded the final corner with his kids in tow, Avery held up the “anything is possible” sign as Chad sprinted towards Lincoln, Noelle, and Amy, breaking through the red ribbon, and achieving the record.
“It was symbolic in so many ways,” he said.
“To signify my retirement from pram racing, I took off my running shoes and placed them on the track.”
Chad says having his two very grown daughters in the stroller along with three of his grown five-year-olds was hilarious.
“They are all too big to be riding in a stroller these days so the fact they all squeezed in the seats, and we set a record has me laughing even now,” he said.
“And I love that they were all old enough to have a memory of that day for the rest of their lives.”
But despite the fun that was had during the record attempt, Chad did face some difficulties due to the amount of weight he was pushing.
The children weighed a combined total of 234 pounds and the stroller weighed 67 pounds, meaning Chad was pushing 301 pounds.
He says that although one kilometre may sound like a short distance to some, getting the momentum going on 301 pounds was no easy feat.
However, Chad says the discomfort was worth the effort and he was thrilled to earn a Guinness World Records title.
“I got choked up and get choked up now thinking about it,” he said.
Given our backstory, getting to share these experiences with my children feels incredible.
In addition to his newfound record title, Chad holds an additional three pram-pushing record titles:
- Fastest 10 km pushing a quintuple pram (male) – 1 hr 4 min 52.9 sec
- Fastest half marathon pushing a quintuple pram (male) – 2 hr 19 min 55 sec
- Fastest marathon pushing a quintuple pram (male) – 4 hr 42 min 49 sec
He hopes this experience will show his children that anything is possible.
“I don’t want my children always to hear me say ‘anything is possible,’” said Chad.
“I want them to witness it first hand and I hope that with experiences like this, they wholeheartedly believe it and set outrageous goals themselves.”
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