St. Louis Woman Attempts Guinness World Record

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Angie Cohen-Scariano has three goals to accomplish today; to break a Guinness World Record, to quit smoking and to raise $10,000 for the American Cancer Society. Her day puts my to-do list to shame.

These three goals all came from a conversation Scariano had with her 7-year-old son Aiden. A lover of The Guinness Book of World Records, Aiden told his mom he thought it would be pretty cool if she could break a record and earn a spot in the book. The conversation stuck with Scariano and after doing some research she came up with an idea.

Since age 16, Scariano has been a smoker. Though she has tried to quit several times, she couldn't break her addiction. Today marks the day she attempts to quit again.

In order to get through the most difficult part of quitting smoking, the first 48 hours, Scariano decided to do one thing that doesn't allow her to smoke and helps keep her fro thinking about it; walking on a treadmill.  

In order to beat the current Guinness world record, Scariano must walk for almost 50 hours at a 4 mph pace. While doing this, she also plans on raising $10,000 for the American Cancer Society.

"It's important for people to know quitting smoking can be done and the donations to the American Cancer Society is right up there with what's important to me," Scariano said.

Her walk began at 7 a.m. this morning, about 15 minutes after finishing her last ciggerette. As of around 12 p.m. today, Scariano estimated that she had raised around $1,600.

Magna Fitness Center at 1401 S. Brentwood Blvd. is playing host to the event for the entire two-day plus period. Members and even non-members of the gym are encouraged to stop by and show Scariano support or even spend time walking on the treadmill next to her.

If you want to help Scariano raise money for the American Cancer Society visit www.thefirst48.net or contact Magna Fitness at (314) 963-7800. Scariano will donate 100% of all the money earned.