I ran 15k for charity – while filming the World’s Longest Commercial

Hi, I’m Tom Dehnel. Together, my sponsors and I raised over $7,000 to benefit Shatterproof. They’re an awesome charity that’s helping make addiction treatment more effective and more accessible.

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How I Did It

On May 19, 2019, I did a charity run of the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco, CA.

I filmed my entire 15k race using a special camera setup made for running (essentially a GoPro on a selfie stick with a laminated cue card attached).

While running, I improvised a mini commercial for each one of my sponsors, like what podcast hosts do.

Fun Facts:

• Yes, the standard race is 12k, but I did the additional bonus 3k because you only live once.
• No one has ever filmed a commercial while running 15 kilometers before, so this video has become the World’s Longest Commercial (by distance).
• One funny thing is it is also technically be the World’s Longest Running Commercial, since I ran the entire time.

Why Shatterproof?

I’m a former addict who has been through several treatment programs. I have many friends (and even a family member) who have also suffered from the disease of addiction, so this cause is very important and personal to me.

Shatterproof is an organization dedicated to developing more effective treatment programs for people with substance abuse issues.

There are over 20 million Americans who could use treatment for some form of substance use disorder, but only about 10 percent of them actually receive it. Current options for recovery are expensive or ineffective.

How did you know you could do this?

I didn’t exactly ask permission. But the Rules didn’t disallow cameras on the course so I figured I was good there.

Physically speaking, I was pretty certain I would be successful. I run a lot, and I spent a lot of time practicing running with a camera on a selfie stick. While I did get a lot of strange looks running around my neighborhood, most people actually smiled or laughed when they saw me which was very fun.

I was originally planning on filming using a DJI Osmo Pocket. It’s a cool little gadget which has built-in mechanical stabilization and shoots awesome 4K video. BUT, there was a high chance of rain on the day of the race, so I had to switch to a GoPro Hero 7 Silver instead. I was a little bummed because the stabilization and audio quality aren’t as good as the Osmo, but crucially the GoPro is waterproof so it got the job done!

Is this a Guinness World Record?

I don’t know! Probably. I got in touch with the Guinness people and submitted an application, so fingers crossed on that.

The World’s Greatest Sponsors

I created this project with the generous support of the following sponsors, who have donated to the cause of addiction treatment and recovery. Every sponsor got their own shoutout during the World’s Longest Commercial.

The World’s Greatest Contributors

I would never have been able to do this without the help and advice of some very special people:

• Max Augliere and Chris Lewis, for helping me define the vision of this project
• Christine Duffy Schlecht and David Schlecht, for guidance and support
• Colin Shelton, social media guru and all around inspiration
• Damian Fitzsimmons at Brave Man for advice on filming and production
• Chuck Dehnel for the support and idea to incorporate actual products into the video
• Kate Green, for the support and training advice only a sister can give
• Mikayla Posk, for being the most amazing and supportive person, you’re the love of my life