24 Hours of Nurburgring: can it be done alone and in real time?

jubbyboi617
How are you going to eat? While you're on the Throne? The 'Ring is too windy, and I doubt you can down your meal down Dottinger.
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Yeah, I was actually thinking Dottinger would give me a moment to take a couple of bites of a granola bar or something. A couple of bites every 8 or 9 minutes should be plenty. :)


DaveS1138
It's probably much easier to report as you go athough then you have the problem of do you pause to do the report or still leave the game running to give your real 24 hours. :)
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I think you're right. The more I think about it, the less concerned I'm becoming about pausing for a minute or two here and there. The point is that I'm doing the whole damn thing in what essentially amounts to "one go". Even if it takes me 25 or even 26 hours to finish, I'd still be proud of that. So yeah, I think I may pause every couple of hours, long enough to record how things are going.
 
In college I played TV Sports: Football for about 30 hours straight. (A whole season of games with 15 minute quarters and all the playoffs.)

I planned a whole week around it to get a ton of sleep before starting and ton after I was done.

Definitely you need to plan on breaking it up a bit, like stretching your legs every hour and eating a couple of meals away from the TV. Whether that means you use an overpowered car and let it idle, or just pause is up to you.
 
how "funny" would it be to fall asleep at 23 hours... ?
A couple (e.g. 6) rounds on the ring without a break are soooo hard.

Its "doable" most probably, but you wont do your body a pleasure and you wont have that much fun after a few hours. Do a 12 hour stint twice. Thats more than hard.
 
Sm0k3:D
You aren't gonna die for this. The more dangerous you can suffer is fall asleep.
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If he doesn't move around during pitstops there is a very real risk of death, and even if he does will he have enough exercise time during the pitstops to offset being inactive in one place for so long at a time? Didn't someone recently die of a blood clot whilst gaming for long periods?
 
I recently (last week) completed the 24hr Le Mans endurance race single handed in a single sitting, and it certainly is do-able, although I completed mine in 26hours :)

My biggest reccomandation would be to start staggering your sleep pattern, until you are in a position to comfortably able to wake up at 2:30pm, giving you 30mins to prepare yourself to start racing at 3:00pm. The reason I say this is because of the night section, which honestly just drags on and on and on and on and... ok you get the picture haha!

As some of the guys above have said, and you yourself have said, plenty of energy drinks (red bull, monster engery, rockstar - whatver really) plenty of coffee, some sugary snacks and a damn comfy seat will do you for the entirity :)

Don't be afraid to pause for 2 minutes here and there for toilet breaks (unless you intend on wetting/soiling yourself?? :P ) As mentioned, do the Le Mans enduro first and see how you like it, personally I loved it, kept it nice and competitive by doing a couple of practice sessions to get my car close to the power limit of the other cars. In the end I finished just 2 laps ahead of 2nd place.

Trust me though, start at 3:00pm, and be be prepared for a VERY long night of racing in the pitch black!!! A Premium car is definately the way to go, as far as the headlights are concerned, but I would strongly reconsider on the Peugeot 908 though, as the main beam is about as good as driving by candle light (seriously!) Do a few practice sessions on either Nurburg or Le Mans in the dark and see which car offers you the best visibilty in the dark, and go with that, as you will be able to keep your lap times up, instead of slowing down because you can't see anything until its too late haha. It's not worth buying the Audo R10 either, as that is the prize for completion of Nurburg 24hr (or so I'm told!)

Obviously the Le Mans circuit will be a walk in the park for 24hrs compared to the Nurburg though, so I hope you know the track well :) Best of luck, and I look forward to seeing how you do, when you get there!

I'm already lvl 38, and working towards lvl 40 so I can attack the ring before getting B-Spec Bob to follow in my footsteps :)
 
deadcat777
At the end of the day, its just a game.
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An irrelevant observation, IMO. You could say the same about every real life motorsport.


SimonK
This is an unhealthy idea in so many ways.
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In what ways? Within reason, I would rarely consider challenging yourself to achieve something despite any inherent risks to be "unhealthy". In fact, I see it as quite the opposite.


robbo6
If he doesn't move around during pitstops there is a very real risk of death, and even if he does will he have enough exercise time during the pitstops to offset being inactive in one place for so long at a time? Didn't someone recently die of a blood clot whilst gaming for long periods?
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Duly noted. But I think this is a bit different than playing Halo. Both arms and legs will be constantly working the throttle, brakes, and steering. This combined with a brief stretch at least once per hour should alleviate this risk. I also doubt that I have the same risk factors as the guy who died recently. He was overweight and made a habit of long gaming sessions. For all we know, that clot could have been forming for days before it finally let go.


cally-dave
My biggest reccomandation would be to start staggering your sleep pattern, until you are in a position to comfortably able to wake up at 2:30pm, giving you 30mins to prepare yourself to start racing at 3:00pm.
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Unfortunately, this isn't a possibility for me. With the job, the wife, and the two young kids, there's no way I could get away with adjusting my sleep pattern to wake in the middle of the afternoon. Those days are long behind me. :)
 
CobraCommandrew
Duly noted. But I think this is a bit different than playing Halo. Both arms and legs will be constantly working the throttle, brakes, and steering. This combined with a brief stretch at least once per hour should alleviate this risk. I also doubt that I have the same risk factors as the guy who died recently. He was overweight and made a habit of long gaming sessions. For all we know, that clot could have been forming for days before it finally let go.
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For all we know the clot just formed there and then. If i was you I'd get some advice on whether the movement your arms and legs whilst driving and subsequent brief stretches are sufficient to reduce the risk of clots. It's ONLY a game after all, get some solid advice on the clotting issue before attempting anything.
 
Back when Forza 3 came out there was a guy who got snowed in for the weekend and ran 24 hours at Le Mans solo in a single sitting. He did it in a custom private lobby (the only kind of custom room the game allowed) with five 4 hour stints (the longest race the game would allow) and one 3 hour 35 minute stint at the end. That left five minutes at the end of every stint for the game to go back to the lobby before he started the next race. This was enough time for the bathroom, make a quick sandwich, update the thread, and invite any friends who wanted to run with him for limited stints. As far as the simulation was concerned this time was to simulate a full tire, fuel, driver change stop which in reality takes much longer than in the game. He did the race with no AI to avoid having his race ruined by a dumb move by the computer. Instead his competition was the Peugot 908 that had won Le Mans that year (2009). He did it in the Audi R15 with the solitary goal of beating the Pug's total distance which he did by quite a considerable margine. Obviously this can be done far more realistically in GT5 for several reasons but I would still take a few tips from this guy. Like the five minute break every 4 hours or so, since GT5 pit stops are nothing actual stops at Le Mans.

Your gonna hurt when your done but its entirely possible
 
You can do it, but it's not really advisable.

It's hard to maintain a high level of concentration for a long time without food and water. Especially water.
 
CobraCommandrew
An irrelevant observation, IMO. You could say the same about every real life motorsport.

In real life motor sport, no driver in the right mind will drive or even attempt to drive for 24 hours straight. Once again its down to your own health. The question is, is it worth risking your health over a console game? If your answer is yes, I can only wish you all the best.
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Don't do it without pausing. Pause whenever you pit and take at least a ten minute break to get blood flowing, hydrate, use the bathroom, eat a bit of something, etc.

Challenging yourself is healthy, but ignoring the risks is definitely not. If I were you I'd rather finish it with breaks throughout then realize halfway through that I was permanently harming myself.

Best of luck, but don't try to do something you can't do. We all have limits, it's not a weakness to want to stay healthy.
 
24hours straight is very hard, Ive had to do the 24hrs races twice each due to a ps3 breakdown, and i found it best to do 12hour stints, so I wouldn't waste too many days on it. One tip for staying awake: comedy, if you can watch tv on a pc/laptop at the same time do it, best way to get through any all nighter, never mind whilst concentrating on one of these.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far guys. Most of it has been constructive and I'm definitely taking it into consideration. I'm glad I posted this thread because I would never have considered some of the health risks associated with simply sitting for extended periods.

That being said, I do still plan to try it. The current plan is to pause for a 5-minute break at least once every 2 hours or as needed (whichever comes first). I will also get up and stretch as much as possible during each pit stop, which I imagine will be once every 40 minutes or so. I will have a large jug of water within reach at all times since hydration is probably the most important thing. Food will likely consist mostly of granola bars and PB&J. I'll have coffee available, but only as a last resort, as I'd like to see if I can get through it without the use of stimulants. My goal is to complete the event in 26 hours or less.

Going with the plan above, I'm confident that I will be putting myself in less danger of permanent bodily harm than I do every time I hop in the car to drive to work.
 
robbo6
If he doesn't move around during pitstops there is a very real risk of death, and even if he does will he have enough exercise time during the pitstops to offset being inactive in one place for so long at a time? Didn't someone recently die of a blood clot whilst gaming for long periods?
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Yea, that's true. Saw a report about a Japanese some years ago, he died in a video arcade after playing for some days without pause, eating or drinking. But I think he was dehydrated. :)

It's reported that it happens very often on long-distance flights. Where you have to sit for 12+ hours on uncomfortable seats & very low space.
 
Man, its crazy if you do that. You can stay sick if you try this. 24 hours playing? Its not driving, its playing. I hope dont see you on the News...
 
I don't know about the Nurburgring, but I did the 24 hours of Le Mans in one sitting with a controller. No pausing, going to the toilet during pit stops and eating, energy drinks. It's very satisfying to finish it without pausing 👍
 
CobraCommandrew
Thanks for the feedback so far guys. Most of it has been constructive and I'm definitely taking it into consideration. I'm glad I posted this thread because I would never have considered some of the health risks associated with simply sitting for extended periods.

That being said, I do still plan to try it. The current plan is to pause for a 5-minute break at least once every 2 hours or as needed (whichever comes first). I will also get up and stretch as much as possible during each pit stop, which I imagine will be once every 40 minutes or so. I will have a large jug of water within reach at all times since hydration is probably the most important thing. Food will likely consist mostly of granola bars and PB&J. I'll have coffee available, but only as a last resort, as I'd like to see if I can get through it without the use of stimulants. My goal is to complete the event in 26 hours or less.

Going with the plan above, I'm confident that I will be putting myself in less danger of permanent bodily harm than I do every time I hop in the car to drive to work.
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👍 The critical thing is you're planning to move around with frequency. I have no idea if the amount your suggesting is ok or not, but it's better than nothing. I'll sign off with a hearty "good luck".
 
I'm not sure if anyone has ever done this in real life or not, but I salute any man willing to do this. The longest I can ever do without pausing is 2 hours, then my brain melts and I need a 30 minute break.

Good idea on not using the X2010. Boring races require less concentration, which gets you less stressed and more dopey. You will fall asleep and get bored much quicker in an overpowered car than in a competitive and/or interesting race.

As for movement, keep a sofa and/or carpet nearby, for fainting purposes. ;) Honestly, I think you'll be fine. Much safer to use a wheel than a controller as your legs/arms are constantly moving, though I'm no doctor.
 

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