Marathon Missouri filibuster follows a tradition that includes catheters, running shoes and Toby Keith lyrics

At one point, in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, they talked about “House of Cards.”

To fill up long, empty hours they also discussed Tyler Perry movies, Jews who eat pork and “Star Wars” trivia.

They didn’t shower, either. Because you’re not allowed to do that when you’re filibustering.

Sen. Jason Holsman from Kansas City hadn’t left the Capitol since Monday afternoon. “That means I’m probably pretty rank at this point,” he told his colleagues.

Hey, whatever it takes when you’re trying to stop or postpone a bill from going to vote.

A group of Missouri Democrats just spent 39 hours filibustering in Jefferson City to delay a vote on legislation granting greater protections in the state constitution for business owners and individuals who oppose gay marriage.

According to early reports, this might be a new filibuster record for the Missouri Senate, but it’s difficult to say. In 1999 senators spent 38 hours over six days debating a bill that would ban a certain type of late-term abortion.

There’s disagreement over whether this latest filibuster lasted 37 or 39 hours because the Senate recessed for a couple of hours early Wednesday morning.

Republicans employed a sporadically used procedural move to stop the filibuster and force a vote. (Read more on it here.)

The name of the filibuster game is endurance.

No sitting. No sleeping. No eating outside food.

No, um, potty breaks.

Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis became a poster legislator for filibusters with her one-woman, 13-hour effort to delay a vote on GOP-created abortion restrictions in June 2013.

Before she began her speechathon her chair was removed — no sitting or leaning allowed during a filibuster. She had a urinary catheter inserted into her bladder — a rather painful process — and later had to strap on a back brace for support.

But it was her bright pink running shoes that she wore with her dress that became iconic.

Earlier that year, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul learned that footwear can make all the difference in a filibuster.

In March 2013 he stood for 13 hours in the Senate to question the use of drones. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision and not well-planned.

“We had no plan and I had the wrong shoes on, my feet were hurting the whole day,” he told CNN.

At least he had food, thanks to snacks apparently kept close by for senators.

“There’s a candy drawer, and if you go to the candy drawer, you can sneak around and get a candy bar,” he said.

Also in 2013, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz spent 21 hours and 18 minutes speaking on the Senate floor to oppose the Affordable Care Act.

To fill the hours he read lyrics from Toby Keith songs and passages from the Bible, quoted from the “Duck Dynasty” TV show, read bedtime stories to his daughters watching from home and even quoted an awards acceptance speech by Ashton Kutcher.

Cruz has vowed to filibuster any Supreme Court nominee made by President Barack Obama to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

He’ll need more than Dr. Seuss books at the ready if he plans to break what is said to the longest filibuster record in American history.

In 1977 a Republican state senator named Bill Meier spent 43 hours filibustering an open records bill.

It happened in Wendy Davis’ home state of Texas.

This story was originally published March 9, 2016 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Marathon Missouri filibuster follows a tradition that includes catheters, running shoes and Toby Keith lyrics."