Alfons Leempoels has so far raised 6,000 euros for coronavirus research.
Rotselaar, Belgium:
A 103-year-old Belgian doctor runs a marathon around his garden every day to raise funds for research on the new coronavirus, inspired by a centenary who became a hero in Great Britain for having spent miles of charity with a frame Steps.
Alfons Leempoels, a retired general practitioner, began his 42.2 km (26.2 mi) journey in the municipality of Rotselaar, northeast of Brussels, on June 1 and plans to complete it on June 30.
Each day, he does 10 laps of 145 meters (159 yards); three in the morning, three at noon and four in the evening. To avoid losing the count, he throws a stick into a bowl each time he completes a round.
Leempoels said the idea came to him when he saw 100-year-old World War II veteran Tom Moore touch a deal in Britain by raising the equivalent of over $ 40 million for health services of the country by walking in his garden.
“My children said I could walk at least as well as Tom Moore and I am 103 years old,” he told Reuters.
“So they suggested maybe I should do something. My granddaughter had just run a marathon and as a joke, I said, I’m going to run a marathon.”
Leempoels hopes to raise funds for the hospital attached to the nearby University of Leuven, where researchers are working to find a cure for COVID-19.
So far, he has raised just over 6,000 euros, according to Marlies Vanderbruggen of the University of Leuven, and has covered about a third of the distance of a marathon.
Leempoels remembers people who fell ill during the 1957-58 Asian flu pandemic, but recovered much faster than those affected by the new coronavirus in recent months.
“As a doctor, you are touched by this and that is why I was happy now that I might be able to help fight the coronavirus,” he said.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
