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The Best in the Book
Members of local track club run on treadmills, set two world records for Guinness publication
Journal Photo by Bruce Chapman
James Banner, the coordinator of the competition, does a leg of the 100 kilometers on a treadmill at Peak Fitness.
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Published: August 3, 2008
After more than 9 hours of running on treadmills yesterday, 12 Winston-Salem men are now the proud holders of two Guinness World Records.
The group ran 100 kilometers (62.14 miles) in 5 hours, 42 minutes and 32 seconds, beating the previous record by nearly 22 minutes. They then broke the record for the 100-mile distance, coming in at 9 hours, 11 minutes and 47 seconds -- more than 35 minutes faster than the previous mark.
The record-breaking effort took place at Peak Fitness on Robinhood Road.
Ranging in age from 16 to 49, the runners are all Winston-Salem residents and members of the Mother of All Competitions club, a subset of the Twin City Track Club.
"It gives us something to do together," said Bill Gibbs, 49, who has run 10 sub-3-hour marathons in a row.
Although the group supported each other through their record-breaking effort, Gibbs said they'll be back to trash talking in no time.
"We'll be chewing into people like a dog into a bone," said Glenn Wells, who has run 16 sub-3-hour marathons. He also completed a 100-mile race in February.
Glenn Wells is part of two father-son teams who helped break the world records.
"I make no bones about it -- mine's a lot faster than I am," Glenn Wells said of his son, Reese.
Reese Wells was the one on the treadmill at about 10 minutes before 2 p.m., when the group passed the crucial 100 kilometers mark. A rising senior at Mount Tabor High School, he runs the 800 meters in 2 minutes flat.
The youngest member of the group, Jack Anderson, is a rising junior at Reagan High School. He finished sixth in the state in the 3,200 meters this year. His father, John, still holds a high-school record in Michigan with a two-mile mark of 9 minutes, 39 seconds.
The group boasts several graduates of area high schools. Brant Armentrout graduated from Mount Tabor and went on to become the 1995 ACC champion in the mile. Mark Uren, a North Forsyth graduate, holds a personal record of 2 hours, 48 minutes in the marathon. James Banner, the organizer of the record-breaking effort, graduated from the N.C. School of Science & Mathematics where he held a personal record of 15 minutes, 46 seconds in the 5K.
There were also several former college runners on the treadmills yesterday. Tim Doran ran cross country and track at Lynchburg College. Alan Marion ran cross country and track at Appalachian State University. Yesterday was his 450th consecutive day of running.
Nate Ayers competed in hockey at East Stroudsburg College, but he's now a runner with a personal record of 4 minutes, 30 seconds in the mile.
Yesterday's world-record breaking group also featured Garick Hill, who qualified for this year's Olympic Trials in the marathon. Hill was the 2001 ACC 10K champion.
Peak Fitness brought in two new treadmills to help make yesterday's effort possible. The new treadmills run up to 12 miles an hour, 2 mph faster than a typical treadmill. Sofas were set up for the participants, who snacked on bagels, power bars and candy while downing sports drinks.
The inspiration for the run came straight out of Guinness World Records, a book Banner has received as a Christmas present for several years.
"I was rocking my son to sleep in December, after Christmas, and I saw it," he said of the previous record.
To make their record official, the group brought in Chuck Harmon to act as a witness. Harmon is the pastor of Mount Bethel and Willow Hill Moravian churches in Cana, Va. He works with Uren.
Harmon said he's used to witnessing special events such as weddings and births.
"This is a first," he said. "Now I'm a witness to a world record."
■ Elizabeth DeOrnellas can be reached at 727-7279 or at edeornellas@wsjournal.com.
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