And so it begins. As of 10 p.m., with a push of a bright red button that activated a large digital clock, Al Roker has embarked on the “Rokerthon”–an attempt to break a Guinness World Record by carrying on the longest uninterrupted weather broadcast. So, for the next 34 hours, if you need the weather, just check in with Al. He’ll be on a livestream at TODAY.com day and night until the 8 a.m. weather segment on “Today” on Friday morning.
Why do this? It’s a fundraiser, for the USO–with more than $21,000 pledged by kickoff.
We’re told Roker’s got a detailed plan for keeping his energy up during the long, long forecast–as reported by NBC’s “Today”:
While Al wants to avoid too much caffeine and try to bank some sleep leading up to the attempt, it’s really what he does during the all-nighter that will determine his success, says NBC Universal’s Dr. Tanya Benenson, who has consulted with Al about the event.
“For this situation, I recommended avoiding pure carbs —which can be tempting in the middle of the night for a quick energy fix,” Benenson told TODAY.com. “This will lead to crashes, which really zaps energy. Protein-fat combinations are ideal like nuts, apple and peanut butter, Greek yogurt, cheese, that kind of thing. Al brought up salmon jerky, which is a great idea.”