ROCKVILLE, Ind. — An Indiana woman tried to set a new Guinness World Record by wakesurfing for nearly 15 hours straight, while raising money for local veterans.
Lori Keeton is a Hoosier native who has turned her passion of wakesurfing into a way to give back to veterans.
"The minute I saw the sport, I fell in love with it," Keeton said. "I've been surfing for 17 years."
Keeton attempted the once-in-a-lifetime feat of 24 straight hours to help raise money for Wake For Warriors, a nonprofit group that teaches local veterans how to do water sports.
"We do everything from wakeboarding to surfing to barefooting or whatever the veterans have interest in," Keeton said. "I can teach people to surf laying down, sitting, we have adaptive chairs that they can sit into."
She's expanded her way to give back, attempting to surf for 24 hours to raise money for the nonprofit.
Her attempt, which began on Wednesday, Sept. 7, lasted 14 hours, 48 minutes. Keeton said cold temperatures and dehydration made the effort more difficult than expected.
But she still easily broke her previous world record of eight hours straight set last year.
Unfortunately, because she had submitted to Guinness for a 24-hour attempt and did not complete attain it, her new record of 14 hours and 46 minuntes did not count, and she did not receive a world record certificate.
"To eat that many calories and to plan how much I need to keep my body from crashing and to keep my energy up, and then, just the mental challenge of just doing the same thing for 24 hours is a challenge. All day and all night," Keeton told 13News prior to the effort.
All proceeds from the effort, which took place on Raccoon Lake in Park County, are going directly to Wake for Warriors. You can donate at this link.
You can keep up with Keeton through updates on her social media accounts.
