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JUGGLER'S GLASNOST

With Lucas in Moscow

There is no place in the world where the art of juggling is held in such high regard

by Scot Morris

Last August I went to the USSR to try to help Albert Lucas break another world record for joggling a marathon, and to seek publicity for my product, Exerballs, the super-heavy juggling balls, which sponsored him in three previous marathons. We were hoping for a fourth straight no-drop marathon, bringing Lucas's cumulative errorless miles to over 100.

Things didn't go quite as planned.

One high point of the trip was backstage at the Moscow Circus where Lucas presented the ringmaster with a gift for Sergei Ignatov - 15 Dube Airflite rings. "I'm going to try for more numbers records," Lucas explained, "and these are the rings I use. I want Ignatov to have access to the same props. That's the only fair way to compare. "

The low point was on August 13, at about the 22-mile mark of the Moscow International Peace Marathon, when Lucas finally had to drop out. Near the start he ran with three Guinness book verifiers who were to stay with him all the way to witness that he really juggled every step of the 26.2 miles. Early in the race Lucas and all three verifiers felt nauseous, possibly from the water given out along the course. At the half-way point one of the verifiers collapsed with cramps and had to drop out, another had to quit a couple miles later.

Lucas himself became ill and was temporarily sidelined at the 16-mile point, but pressed on. At 18 miles he was still eight minutes ahead of pace to set a new record (3 hours, 23 minutes) but his stomach problems worsened. By the 22-mile mark both Lucas and his one remaining verifier were so dehydrated that stomach cramps forced them to stop and walk.

It was devastating, and frustrating to one who had put so many training miles into this effort.

However, by the following night he had recovered enough to perform at the awards ceremony at the Red Army Sports Center, where he entertained top runners from over 20 different countries. Afterward, he was officially invited to perform next summer at the re-opening of the Central Moscow Circus Building, which has been under renovation for three years.

From the start, this trip had an additional objective beside the marathon - to open communications with top members of the Soviet circus. I had hopes we might even meet Sergei Ignatov himself. I was hoping to be able to write about the meeting of two juggling legends.

Lucas was hopeful, too. "Ignatov has been a great inspiration to me," he said. "He has given me goals to shoot for. He has been a great source of motivation to me to become the best I can be."

But the meeting wasn't to be. The great performer was in Japan all summer, performing with one of the many international touring companies of the Moscow Circus. (We did learn that the correct pronunciation of his name is "sir-GAY ig-NAHtiev. ")

We also met everyone connected with the company performing in Gorky Park, starting with ringmaster Valeri Glosman. After an exchange of pins, t-shirts and posters, and a toast with Pepsis, Lucas was invited to return the next day between the matinee and the evening show to perform exclusively for the Moscow Circus performers. This, we were told, was the first time any American had performed in this tent. About 50 people came to see Lucas' show. They barely filled the first two rows of the 1,200-seat tent, but at the end they broke into the rhythmic applause that is the sign of a Soviet audience's high approval.