TULSA, Okla. -
To seemingly any amateur runner, traveling a mile and a half is simple task. To some, that distance is barely a warm up. But a Tulsa business owner thought of a way to make an amateur running event more interesting.
"I wanted to do something unique and I see these zorbs on TV and I thought, okay, now that would be crazy to run in one of those, said Arthur Greeno, who owns and operates a local Chik-Fil-A franchise.
Greeno has also managed to earn a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, twice. One was for the largest iced tea and the other was for the largest lemonade. (According to the Tulsa World, that lemonade record set in 2008 was an 839 gallon cup.)
But Greeno wanted a record that wasn't about food or beverage.
"The world record for it is the most people in a zorb in 24 hours," Greeno explained. "So everybody has to self propel themselves a hundred meters in order to qualify."
Because the record is the first of its kind, the representatives from Guinness set the minimum requirement to 500 people; close to 600 signed up.
Participants competed as five-man relay teams through an obstacle course set up on the campus of ITT Technical Institute in Tulsa. Friends and family teamed up to labor through the series of hills, creeks and winding roads.
And the event was about more than a new world record. The $40 entry fee went to local area charities.
While the relay organizers were expecting more participants, Greeno believes this event will grow in popularity.
"This event is the first of its kind," claimed Greeno.
"People are afraid to do it. They think all they're going to do is flip around. But some people are starting to see it's not that way."
