Snug footwear is tough on the circulation after two days, and a good deed brings out the best in others.

Those are lessons Dale Eller walked away with this Sunday, after breaking the world record for continuous bell ringing for the Salvation Army.

"I know if I had to stand out there by myself, I don't think I could've done it," Eller said on Monday. "It was the support I had with the Salvation Army and staff who came out to see me, and the moments of people coming up and just smiling and saying, 'I heard about you, and was inspired to come out and give to you.'"

Eller stood clanging a handbell this weekend outside the Hayden Walmart for 41 hours, surpassing the previous record of 37 hours.

He fell short of his 48-hour goal, he admitted.

"What really stopped me was my feet," Eller said, adding that his boots were just tight enough to become unbearable. "I stood in my socks for the last hour."

He filled up five donation kettles, he added. The exact count of how much he raised isn't in yet.

The 52-year-old didn't suffer injuries or illness during his ringing marathon.

On Monday, he was back at work as a personal trainer at the Kroc Center, though he acknowledged he would forego his personal workout for the day.

The record was secondary to raising money for the needy, Eller said, a mission he expects to build on next year.

That's right. He plans to do this again next winter.

Eller would like to recruit more ringers to work with him, he added, and maybe find a corporate sponsor.

"I really think I've found a way to have a larger voice," he said. "Maybe over time, this will inspire other bell ringers to try for a longer duration, to say, 'We need changes in this country.' You know, to put people back to work."