More than 1,000 people turned a mile of pavement into the longest positivity chain ever in Eagle Mountain, Utah, on May 22.
They gathered together to remind people driving by that they are loved. The event was hosted by Ben Lyne, a runner who went viral for spreading positivity with an "I Believe in You" sign he holds while going on runs.
"I want to promote more positivity and more hope," Lyne said. "There's so much negativity out there. I came to a point when I started doing this where I was so sick of all the negativity."
When Lyne moved to Eagle Mountain, Utah in 2006, he started running. On his runs, he noticed how sad people were and decided to do something about it.
"I didn't know what the idea was right away, but eventually I came up with 'I'm going to hold a sign,'" he said.
After continuously uplifting others for years, he decided to get the community involved through a "positivity chain."
"Wouldn't it be cool if we could do a mile-long chain of people between the schools, and go for a world record?" Lyne said.
More than 1000 people showed up for the event.
"I just hope people know that they're loved," Phoenix Tuia'ana, an attendee at the event, said. "Everyone needs to be reminded of that, and if we can just be a small part of reminding people of that, that's what we're doing here."
The city helped throw the event together by shutting down roads and spreading the news. Chick-fil-A sponsored the event with free chicken sandwiches and water bottles for participants.
"I've learned that most people are about this close to feeling better, and all they need is that spark," Lyne said. "All they need is a few seconds (of) 'I believe in you' or somebody doing something nice, and then they can completely change their life."
Lyne hopes to continue throwing this event for years to come.