Help Set a Record! |  |
Published: 10/23/2012
Media Advisory
National Geographic Kids Magazine Sets Out to Claim 2 Guinness World Records® Titles Tied to Running and Recycling
Marine Corps Marathon Healthy Kids Fun Run participants to help set 100-meter record;
Collection effort underway for 25,000 sneakers for recycling, with celebrity help
WHAT: On Saturday, Oct. 27, media are invited to watch 3,600 kids help break the Guinness World Records® title for most people running 100 meters within a 24-hour period. Through National Geographic Kids’ Run for the Planet program, in coordination with the Marine Corps Marathon’s Healthy Kids Fun Run, the Pentagon North parking lot will be packed with kids devoted to fitness, with Marines cheering them on.
Kids Run participants will contribute to the record as they complete a one-miler, and all runners will be observed by Guinness World Records representative Mike Janela. Per record rules, runners also will be confirmed by two independent witnesses: healthy lifestyle coach Kathy Pugh, owner of women’s running boot camp EZ8DC; and DeShay Williams, co-owner of personal training studio Definitions (both of Washington, D.C.). In addition, runners worldwide will help set the record with 100-meter runs between noon ET, Friday, Oct. 26, and noon ET Saturday, Oct. 27. Five thousand participants are needed for the record.
To simultaneously engage people in recycling, National Geographic Kids is also collecting old athletic shoes for the longest chain of shoes. With the help of Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program, the sneakers will be recycled into Nike Grind — a material used in athletic surfaces such as basketball courts and running tracks — after they have been tied into a chain later this year. The goal: 25,000 shoes. Shoes contributed by stars such as the NFL’s Eli Manning and race car driver Danica Patrick can be seen at National Geographic's Washington headquarters, 1145 17th St. NW, where people can also drop off their shoes through Nov. 9.
Macerich malls across the country — including Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va. — will be holding events. See macerich.com/ngkids for details. For more on either record attempt, go to kids.nationalgeographic.com/run-for-the-planet/.
WHERE: Marine Corps Marathon Healthy Kids Fun Run, Pentagon North Parking Lot
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Final wave organized by National Geographic
Kids: 11:57 a.m.
Kids: 11:57 a.m.
WHO: Rachel Buchholz, Executive Editor, National Geographic Kids magazine
Mike Janela, Head of U.S. Records Management, Guinness World Records
North America, Inc.
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(l to r): Eli Manning, Danica Patrick, One Direction, Nolan Gould, Amanda Beard and Jake Short. (on display at National Geographic).
Photo credit: Mark Thiessen / National Geographic
