Vicky Clifford
Barrie de Suys's 1,000 Mile Trek
Fundraising for RNIB - Royal National Institute of Blind People
Story
1,000 mile trek at Victory Park by 85yr old Barrie. That's more than the entire length of Great Britain from Land's End to John o' Groats.
Anyone who has visited Victory Park in Addlestone during lockdown will have probably seen a steady figure walking the 0.6 mile perimeter of the park, and he was probably still going when you left. In fact, 85 year old Barrie walks Victory laps morning, noon and night and has clocked up a staggering number of miles over the last 11 weeks.
"I do between 7 to 10 laps in the morning and afternoon, and depending on the heat between 5 and 8 laps in the evening. The most I've done is 30 laps in a day and 100 miles in a week; I've covered about 1,000 miles already since lockdown. If it's wet, I put a coat on." When you consider that Mo Farah achieves a maximum of about 135 miles a week, that puts Barrie's walking achievement into perspective.
But it's even more astonishing when you realise that Barrie has done all this following a serious injury. "I broke my hip in April 2018", Barrie explains, "and I used to walk to Kingston (8 miles from Addlestone as the crow flies). 10 days after the operation I got the bus to Kingston and walked back to Hampton Court and did it several times a week. I used to use the fitness machines in Victory Park for a few hours at a time before lockdown but they're closed now, so I walk."
Barrie wants to raise money for the RNIB and having already walked approximately 1,000 miles during lockdown, has a target to raise £1 for every one of his next 1,000 miles.
Barrie de Suys (pronounced de Swee) was a driving instructor for 36 years but has now swapped his car for walking shoes.
But it's even more astonishing when you realise that Barrie has done all this following a serious injury. "I broke my hip in April 2018", Barrie explains, "and I used to walk to Kingston (8 miles from Addlestone as the crow flies). 10 days after the operation I got the bus to Kingston and walked back to Hampton Court and did it several times a week. I used to use the fitness machines in Victory Park for a few hours at a time before lockdown but they're closed now, so I walk."
Barrie wants to raise money for the RNIB and having already walked approximately 1,000 miles during lockdown, has a target to raise £1 for every one of his next 1,000 miles.
Barrie de Suys (pronounced de Swee) was a driving instructor for 36 years but has now swapped his car for walking shoes.
Vicky Clifford has set this page up after Barrie helped by kicking her daughter's football back to her as he walked past the goal, and they got talking in the park.