Record-setting soccer juggler from St. Charles sets sights on new quest

Abraham Munoz is no stranger to world records.

Fastest marathon while juggling a soccer ball, the men’s record for most touches of a soccer ball in one hour, the list goes on — 11,901 is the number to beat on the latter, for anyone looking to take a stab at it.

And the 51-year-old St. Charles resident doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon, with a planned half-marathon record attempt in Dubai in January and a packed training schedule up until then. Along with that, he’s got a full-time gig as the owner of a carpentry business, and he travels and performs around the world.

But Munoz likes to keep moving, keep busy — and keep the ball from dropping, of course.

Munoz is originally from Mexico, and moved to the United States around three decades ago. He says he had performed his soccer juggling skills in Mexico even before coming to the U.S., and had long wanted to set records — including an attempt in Mexico that didn’t ultimately get confirmed as a record and that he doesn’t officially count.

When he first arrived in California, Munoz got work picking strawberries, he told The Beacon-News recently. He moved around some after that, continuing to pick fruit and vegetables for work.

“But always, after work, I was practicing,” Munoz said.

After a few years, he came to Chicago, and that’s where things started to pick up.

It was a Mexico vs. Argentina soccer game at Soldier Field, he said. Munoz took his ball and started to juggle outside the venue and, as he recalls it, a well-known television personality and Univision anchor secured him some time to do a performance inside the stadium.

From there, Munoz got featured on television, and it became easier to get sponsorships for his world record attempts, something he says was difficult in Mexico.

In 2009, he managed two official records on the same day, he said. One was for the fastest 100 meters while juggling a soccer ball, and the other for balancing a soccer ball on his head while traveling 4,444 meters.

He went on to set a number of records in the years that followed.

In the meantime, Munoz has lived in St. Charles for more than two decades. He and his wife have three now-grown children, two of whom played soccer but sustained injuries, and another who’s a runner.

He spends his time running his carpentry business, all while practicing soccer ball juggling daily.

Munoz says he trains for at least half an hour each day, even when he’s not actively working toward a new record. When he’s preparing for a record attempt, however, it’s more like two hours daily, at least.

He’s tried running without a soccer ball, but doing so makes him feel sad, he explained.

“It’s weird,” Munoz said. “I need my ball … it’s part of my life.”

Munoz can often be found practicing his skills around town, in Mount St. Mary Park or Pottawatomie Park. Last month, he was recognized by the city of St. Charles with the “Spirit of St. Charles” award.

At the meeting, Mayor Clint Hull described his having encountered Munoz juggling while he was coaching Munoz’s son in soccer.

“I was paying more attention to (Munoz) than I was to the team,” Hull recalled, “because I was thinking, ‘That ball never drops.’”

Hull said he’s gotten to know Munoz over time, as a carpenter, a father and as a performer and coach to young athletes.

While Munoz’s unique hobby and numerous Guinness World Records have gotten him a fair bit of attention over the years, he’s not stopping now.

His next feat? Attempting to run a half-marathon in less than two hours and 20 minutes, all while juggling a soccer ball.

As he’s ramping up his training, Munoz said he’ll be doing a lot of timed running while juggling, gradually increasing his mileage over time. He also does training on hills and stairs to increase his leg strength, and spends some time just practicing soccer tricks.

He trains every day — six days juggling, and one day riding his bike as a form of cross-training, he says.

He just recently reached the half-marathon distance, he told The Beacon-News, with a time of two hours and 23 minutes. From there, he’ll work on shaving off time in the coming months.

He is planning to make the attempt at the Dubai Marathon on Jan. 17.

Though Munoz is aiming to run the half-marathon in two hours and 20 minutes, he noted that, in practice, he’ll shoot for an even faster time, taking into account any race-day conditions that occur, an issue that’s come up in the past.

A decade ago, when Munoz was preparing to set the record for the fastest marathon while juggling a soccer ball, he said he was able to complete it in around five hours.

On the day of the race in Mexico City, however, he ran into some unexpected trouble. He had started behind the rest of the runners, but, later on in the race, he eventually caught up and had some difficulty passing people as he was juggling a soccer ball.

But he told himself to relax and keep going, he recalled, and ultimately finished in five hours 41 minutes and 52 seconds.

This time around, he plans to start a little further behind everyone else, but is still aiming for the two hours and 20 minutes goal.

It might be natural to ask: How does he do it? A full-time job, family and a time-consuming hobby of setting soccer ball juggling-related world records can be a lot to fit in.

Munoz says he doesn’t always want to practice, but he feels he doesn’t have a choice.

“If you want to be better and better, you have to practice … different(ly),” Munoz said.

Munoz also performs in schools in Mexico for free, he said, and he likes showing children an example of a healthy lifestyle. He says he never uses drugs, doesn’t smoke or drink alcohol and, at 51, feels “great all the time.”

When he performs, he likes to say, “Si yo puedo, tu puedes,” or “If I can do it, you can do it,” he explained.

Being healthy and in good shape, he says, enables a person to do “a lot of good things.”

And, in addition to keeping him healthy, soccer ball juggling also keeps him busy.

“I like to do something, stay … busy,” Munoz said. “When you sleep too much, you don’t have power. … It’s like, ‘Ah, I don’t want to do anything. Ah, you’re so tired…’ That’s a big problem.”

“You have to stay busy,” Munoz added, “and that way you can do whatever you want.”

mmorrow@chicagotribune.com