Gamer turns pastime into charity cash as he almost doubles marathon record

A gamer turned his passion into charity funds when he played a mobile game for a record amount of time.

Oside Oluwole Khoded (Nigeria) claimed the title for longest videogame marathon playing a mobile game after logging an impressive 100 hours and 4 minutes.

When he completed his marathon in Lagos on 29 September 2024, he’d almost doubled the existing record of 55 hr 1 min 51 sec from Carrie Swidecki (USA), who’d played Pokémon Go.

Oside’s unmatched gaming marathon, with his game of choice Dream League Soccer 2024, was for a very good cause – raising money for people with spinal cord injuries.

He took on his challenge during September because it’s Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month.

It’s something that has affected lots of people, especially men, in Nigeria, and Oside was determined to do his bit to help.

He said: “The goal is to raise funds and support rehabilitation centres to aid individuals in their recovery journeys. Raising awareness in the gaming community, which is male-dominated, is crucial, as certain lifestyle choices like posture, heavy lifting, and sleeping positions can impact spinal health in the long term.”

After asking for people to sponsor him during his gaming marathon, Oside raised 200,000 Naira (£103; $138).

This challenge was something Oside had been preparing for his whole life, even if he didn’t realize.

He told us: “Gaming for long periods of time is something I’ve been used to since my university days, but I used to have several breaks.

“I remember while I was growing up when I was almost 12, it was the first time I slept outside my parents’ house and it was at a family friend’s who had a soccer videogame (Winning Eleven). I played almost 12 hours non-stop.”

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To manage playing for 100 hours, Oside explained that he went for a full 24 hours at first in order to save up his rest breaks.

As per Guinness World Records rules, people taking part in marathon record attempts earn rest time for each hour of activity.

Oside carefully planned out his schedule so that he could take longer rest breaks further into his attempt, when fatigue was really setting in.

And he puts his success partly down to his friends and family who kept him company and chatted with him the entire time.

His efforts were recognized by Mobolaji Ogunlende, Hon. Commissioner for the Ministry of Youth and Social Development in Lagos, who met with Oside to celebrate the arrival of his Guinness World Records certificate.

Oside has already attempted to break his own record, and is waiting to find out whether or not he was successful.