On Saturday, Oct. 24, Vusa Bentley set up for a long forearm plank at Shared Spaces at Emy Frentz in Mankato, Minnesota. The endurance athlete held the position as neighbors gathered to support a local cause. The Greater Mankato Area United Way said the free community event would include crafts, activities and a DJ, giving neighbors a chance to cheer her on as the attempt unfolded.
The effort had a purpose beyond the unusual physical challenge. Bentley partnered with the United Way to support its work in basic needs, health and education. The organization serves people across Blue Earth, Le Sueur, Nicollet and Waseca counties. Its event page says the local United Way supports 75 programs and initiatives that serve more than 65,000 people each year.
KEYC News Now reported that Bentley’s plank lasted five hours and three minutes and that the event raised more than $15,000 for the United Way, above the station’s reported $15,000 goal.
The event was designed to make a demanding athletic attempt feel open to the community. The United Way listed the public gathering for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with Bentley beginning earlier in the day. Supporters could watch, take part in activities and spend time together while she continued the plank. KEYC reported that Shared Spaces filled with supporters, and that a DJ played as Bentley answered questions from the crowd, thanked people and sang.
That attention to the people in the room shaped the story as much as the time on the floor. KEYC quoted Bentley describing the event as something built for the community and recognizing the people who donated. Her longtime friend Ellen Thompson told the station that Bentley organized the fundraiser and brought people together for the event. Donnette Wheelock, whom Bentley calls her “American Mother,” also spoke to supporters about the community focus behind the effort.
Bentley’s “United We Plank” project is meant to connect endurance challenges with local causes. The United Way’s event page describes her goal of traveling to all 50 states and doing a one-hour forearm plank for different causes. The same page says she had already planked in more than a dozen states. For the Minnesota event, she chose the Greater Mankato Area United Way as the beneficiary.
The Mankato attempt was also part of a bid for a record, but the result should be treated as pending. KEYC reported that Bentley submitted an application to Guinness World Records and that certification can take several months. The five-hour-three-minute duration is the result reported from the event; it does not by itself establish that Guinness has certified a record. Keeping that distinction clear leaves the focus on what was already accomplished: a long effort, a room full of supporters and a fundraiser for services in the region.
KEYC’s earlier September interview with Bentley traced the project to a personal turning point. She said she began planking in 2019 during a difficult stretch and later decided to bring the practice to communities as a fundraiser. In that interview, she described wanting to use the challenge to benefit others and invited the public to take part in the October event. That background helps explain why the Mankato gathering combined an athletic milestone with a cause chosen close to home.
During the plank, Bentley told KEYC she thought about gratitude and the people who had helped her through hard times. Afterward, she thanked her trainer, her two sons, the witnesses and recovery team, the DJ, the videographer and the people in the room. The station reported that she joked with the crowd after finishing and planned an evening celebration with her team.
For the United Way, the fundraiser connected a visible community event with work that continues after the crowd goes home. Its programs address basic needs, health and education for people of different ages across four counties. The organization’s page says proceeds from Bentley’s project go directly to its work. KEYC’s report put the event’s total above $15,000, beyond the stated goal.
Bentley plans to continue the broader 50-state project, according to the United Way and KEYC. In Mankato, Bentley’s five-hour plank brought a room full of supporters together around a community fundraiser. The attempt’s official record status remains for reviewers to determine; the community fundraiser and its reported total are the result local readers can already see.
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