Pair of Aggies race into Guinness record books

LOGAN – As they crossed the line to start their final lap, Casey Williams and Mike Price were half a second ahead of the world record pace.

400 meters later, the duo had run away from the record, finishing 10 seconds ahead of the record in seven minutes and 50 seconds to set a new Guinness World Record for fastest three-legged mile.

“We were five seconds ahead of the pace on the first lap, two seconds ahead on the second lap and the third lap we came in right on pace, maybe half a second ahead,” Price said. “So when we went into that last lap, I felt like we’d run like five miles at a very fast pace.”

Williams, a senior majoring in business marketing at Utah State, said he’d always wanted to set a world record. But back in March he realized just how reachable the achievement was and recruited Price, who graduated from Utah State last spring in Economics.

While working at an elementary school, Williams had a child bring him the Guinness Book of World Records to read. After seeing some of the records that had been set, Williams decided to do a little research and find one he felt was breakable.

“I started reading it with him, and as I was reading it with him, there were some records like who could blow a toothpick the farthest or who could blow out the most candles with one breath,” Williams said. “I kind of thought some of them were a joke. … So I went home, researched a few records that could be broken and decided the world record for three-legged mile was attainable.”

But despite breaking the record by a full 10 seconds, Price said it wasn’t easy.

<span>“There’s a lot more to it than I originally thought,” Price said. “We’ve run a lot together, and so I knew it was do-able, but as we started training, it ended up being a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.”</span>

<span>Williams and Price waited two months to hear back from Guinness for approval of their attempt, and now will have to wait another two in order to officially be put on the books as record holders.</span>

<span>It will take 29 pages of paperwork, and compiling a DVD of video and photos for the pair to send to the Guinness offices in London before, pending review, Price and Williams will finally go on record as the world’s fastest three-legged milers.</span>

<span>“It feels pretty good,” said Williams, a </span><span>USU</span><span> business marketing senior. “Number one in the world in one thing, at least. We’ll take it.”</span>

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