Mark Mallman to Perform 78 Hour 'Marathon' Song In Its Entirety

Rocker Mark Mallman plans to perform his song 'Marathon 3' at a performance at the Turf Club in St. Paul, Minn. that will begin on Oct. 7 but, because the song is so long, he won't finish playing it until Oct. 10. It's not only a four-day concert, it's also a four-day song -- 78 hours in all, non-stop, featuring a rotating cast of nearly 100 special guests and over 400 pages of lyrics. And you thought Phish played long songs...

Suffice it to say, this will be the first time Mallman performs the song in its entirety, although the concept of performing a seemingly impossible long epic composition is not new to him -- before 'Marathon 3' there was, naturally, 'Marathon 1' and 'Marathon 2.' The first one took him two days to perform and the second, three days. He performed them in 1999 and 2004, respectively. So he's been training for this.

"This piece represents three marathons," Mallman said in a statement. "Each piece is 26 hours long, like a marathon is 26 miles." Don't expect a bathroom break in between -- while musicians will come and go, the song itself will be played in its entirety, without breaks. "I am not a magician or a stuntman attempting to set a world record," he said. "I am a professional musician. I seek to expose the raw nerve of creativity itself."

Think about that the next time your favorite hipster band plays a 45-minute headlining set. For those who can't endure being in a nightclub for 78 hours straight, you can always come and go as you please online -- the entire performance will be webcast at Mark Mallman's official website. And remember -- pace yourselves.