Faisal Mohyud-Din and Mohammed Azeem, students at Salford University, managed to hug one another for 24 hours and 17 minutes - setting the new world record for the Longest Hug.
Mr Mohyud-Din, a talented sprinter who is aiming to compete in the 2012 Olympics, said: "This was certainly a marathon rather than a sprint. "I needed all my reserves of stamina to get through it, but I'm over the moon to have broken the world record for the Longest Hug - hopefully the first of many."
They have raised money for the new Christie cancer unit in Oldham. The embrace is the charity logo of The Christie Hospital.
The previous Guinness world record for Longest Hug was smashed by 16 minutes.
They finished their feat at Oldham Athletic's Boundary Park stadium during the team's game against Leyton Orient.
Alicia Custis, head of communications at The Christie, added: "Massive congratulations to Faisal and Azeem for the new Longest Hug world record - they've done fantastically well and fought against sleep deprivation and muscle fatigue. "I know it was incredibly hard work and I'm hugely grateful to them for doing this for the Christie. This is a hug for all our cancer patients."
They were monitored throughout the challenge and had to stay awake at all times.
The Salford University students said they wanted to do it because everyone is at risk of suffering from the killer disease.
The Christie Cancer Hospital is opening a new £17m radiotherapy centre in Oldham later this week.
Source: worldrecordsacademy
Mr Mohyud-Din, a talented sprinter who is aiming to compete in the 2012 Olympics, said: "This was certainly a marathon rather than a sprint. "I needed all my reserves of stamina to get through it, but I'm over the moon to have broken the world record for the Longest Hug - hopefully the first of many."
They have raised money for the new Christie cancer unit in Oldham. The embrace is the charity logo of The Christie Hospital.
The previous Guinness world record for Longest Hug was smashed by 16 minutes.
They finished their feat at Oldham Athletic's Boundary Park stadium during the team's game against Leyton Orient.
Alicia Custis, head of communications at The Christie, added: "Massive congratulations to Faisal and Azeem for the new Longest Hug world record - they've done fantastically well and fought against sleep deprivation and muscle fatigue. "I know it was incredibly hard work and I'm hugely grateful to them for doing this for the Christie. This is a hug for all our cancer patients."
They were monitored throughout the challenge and had to stay awake at all times.
The Salford University students said they wanted to do it because everyone is at risk of suffering from the killer disease.
The Christie Cancer Hospital is opening a new £17m radiotherapy centre in Oldham later this week.
Source: worldrecordsacademy
