KEY WEST, Fla. – By golly, they’ve done it.
According to Local 10′s Jacksonville news partner, News4JAX, two women, Cassie Aran and Lauren, completed their 500-mile drive down the coast of Florida in an attempt to claim the Guinness World Record for “Longest Distance by Toy Cars.”
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The women chronicled the extraordinary adventure — that took over three months — on social media to support their fundraising campaign aimed at helping and rescuing animals.
Cassie and Lauren started their journey at Friendship Fountain in Jacksonville and finished at the Southernmost Point Buoy in Key West. They drove a total of 596 miles in total. News4JAX interviewed the two at the beginning of their trip in Jacksonville Beach on March 8. After the story ran, multiple other news agencies worldwide decided to follow their journey.
The two had to overcome many trials and tribulations, one of which included the unfortunate news that they would have to forfeit their chance at winning the title unless they paid Guinness World Records. According to Cassie, Guinness emailed the women during their attempt saying they “were no longer allowed to raise money towards saving animals unless they paid them $16,000.”
Cassie and Lauren decided to make the hard decision to forfeit their chances of snatching the title in order to donate more money to help different organizations that raise money for animals.
“We are so incredibly sad that we had to make the decision to choose between the record title and saving animals...but I know we made the right move,” Cassie said in a post on her YouTube Channel. “I hope so many animals get saved from kill shelters and get the life they deserve because of this very sad decision. I hope you guys will still stay here for our 600-mile journey to the finish line in Key West. I love you guys and I’m going to go cry now..but I still stand by my decision 1000%.” (Watch the heartbreaking announcement here)
News4JAX reached out to Guinness World Records on May 3 and did not receive a reply.
The good news? Cassie said after they finished the journey, they were going to do it again!
“We’re going to be doing this again in a few months but better and longer with a completely different route,” Cassie said. “I won’t announce what the route is yet, but it is nuts! But that will give us a few months to come up with the money that we have to pay Guinness so that our third attempt and final attempt will be able to still be a fundraiser to save animals. So don’t worry, we still plan on getting the record for the Longest Journey by Toy Car...”
During their journey, Cassie also said her YouTube page was taken down after someone hacked into it. After many tears and a battle with YouTube, her YouTube page was reinstated.
Despite it all, they made it! It took the pair over three months to complete the drive as millions watched and cheered them on along the way. When they arrived in Key West, the city welcomed the two with a proclamation and a key to the City from Commissioner Clayton Lopez and City Manager Childress!
Way to go, Cassie and Lauren!
The City of Key West on Saturday welcomed two 29-year-old Florida women who just complete their record setting 500-mile...
Posted by City of Key West -- Government on Monday, May 6, 2024
Cassie and Lauren’s Story
Cassie and Lauren have been close friends since their kindergarten days in New Jersey, where they rode battery-powered toy cars in the neighborhood.
“This just kind of came as this wild idea because we had these cars as kids,” Lauren said. “We used to ride around with toy cars as kids and have always wanted a Guinness World Record attempt. So we’re like, this would be a fun way to kind of honor our childhood.”
The two have a great relationship and love pushing the boundaries to add excitement and spontaneity into their lives. They aim to inspire others to do the same throughout this process and to remind everyone not to take life so seriously.
“We just love to do crazy adventures and push the limits of what is possible and try to inspire other people in the process,” Lauren said.