Bio: Born and reared in Westchester County, north of New York City, Betty Shurin went to the Culinary Institute of America after high school and came west to work as a chef in Aspen in 1991. Now 36, she has taken up a more fanciful career as a promoter and manufacturer of hula hoops, which she says are good for both body and soul. Two weeks ago she broke her own world record for hoop running, finishing the 10 kilometers of the Bolder Boulder in 1 hour, 36 minutes, 1 second, without ever touching her hoop with her hands or letting it fall to the ground.
The Journey: Shurin, who has adopted the name Betty Hoops, fell in love with the pop-culture icons at an outdoor festival in 1998. She soon discovered, however, that the traditional models she had twirled as a youngster were too small and lightweight to work well for grown-ups. “It’s all about the physics,” she says. “As an adult, you’re taller and bigger, so your hoop needs to be about twice the size and weight of one for an 8-year-old.” Today she markets hoops that weigh up to 2 pounds and come in three sizes – medium, large and extra-large – plus an XXL that is 18 feet in circumference and fits people over 300 pounds.
The Details: Even when no running is involved, hula-hooping “is just a really fun, low-impact workout,” says Shurin, who has taught the sport to thousands at schools, recreation centers and outdoor events in Aspen, Boulder, Telluride and elsewhere, including New York after 9/11 and New Orleans after Katrina. “You can burn as many calories as you can with aerobics or running. People can’t get enough of it because it’s such a free-form movement and such a healing modality for mind-body health.”
The activity is especially beneficial for women with eating disorders, she adds. “It’s like a massage around your belly, and that’s where bulimics store all their anger. This enables them to release a ton of (emotional) stuff.”
Her colorful, tape-wrapped “Betty Hoops,” which sell for about $25 to $50, come in two models: a version that Shurin makes by hand from lengths of sprinkler hose (each one takes 40 minutes to assemble), and a padded, collapsible type available through Target stores under the Gaiam brand. For more, go online to . -Jack Cox
Exercise
Besides hooping, Shurin teaches yoga two nights a week, and also enjoys rock climbing, mountain biking, kayaking and backpacking. In winter, she takes her hoop snowboarding. “Don’t ask me how I do it,” she jokes.
Nutrition
“I prefer raw, clean fare. I love big salads,” says the former chef. “But I feel like I never have time. I don’t even wash and cut my own lettuce.”
