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NEWS Inspiring Walkers
A teenager who sparked a major search and rescue operation after he stole a boat at night and got stranded is 1,000 miles into a sponsored walk around Britain to pay back the £20,000 that it cost. Seb Green, 18, was 15 when he and a friend stole a rigid inflatable boat from a harbour. They rowed out to sea but became grounded in a lagoon and when they clambered out they got stuck in deep mud. A passer-by heard their calls for help and two helicopters, two land-based coastguard teams and two lifeboats, comprising dozens of rescuers, went to their aid. The boy was prosecuted and he was sentenced to a supervision order but Seb decided to go further and raise £20,000 to "pay back the community". He decided to spend nearly a year walking 5,821 miles (9,367km) around Britain with his border collie Flash. He has now covered 1,000 miles but said wryly: "I've realised the country is bigger than it looks." The two teenagers got stranded in Fleet Lagoon near Weymouth Harbour, Dorset, in May 2004. The coastguard helicopter, Dorset Police helicopter, two coastguard land-based teams and two RNLI lifeboats were launched to rescue them. He and three-year-old Flash are following a route to Dover, along the Thames Estuary, up to John O'Groats in Scotland, before heading back south through Wales, through Cornwall past Lands End and home. They sleep in a tent most nights and they are currently near Arbroath in Scotland after three months' walking. He said: "Physically it's been all right, but the weather has been the toughest obstacle, we've had it all, wind, rain, hail, sleet, snow and sun. "I to be honest I don't quite know why I have undertaken such a huge task but I am committed to raising the cost of my rescue." |
TINA Zuiderwyk is The Sun-Herald City2Surf's oldest female competitor at 91 and is fitter than many half her age. Mrs Zuiderwyk, from Woonona in Wollongong, walks seven to eight kilometres every day with her 68-year-old son Tony. Still living independently in a retirement unit, she catches buses to her local appointments, swims regularly and travels to Sydney once a fortnight with Tony to exercise with an over-60s walking group. Described by her four children as "remarkable" and "inspirational", Mrs Zuiderwyk said her zest for life and for The Sun-Herald City2Surf would continue for years. She will take part in her 18th City2Surf on Sunday, August 12, having made her debut as a runner in 1989, aged 73. "My youngest daughter Heppy asked me in 1989, 'Would you like to go with me in the City2Surf?' so I did and I just wanted to run in it every year," Mrs Zuiderwyk said. Mrs Zuiderwyk said she had always been a keen runner and swimmer. In recent years she has taken up yoga and worked out at the gym. Other than exercise - and plenty of it - she has no other secrets to her rampant good health. "I am fairly healthy and the doctor is very pleased with me, always," she said. Mrs Zuiderwyk will be accompanied on the 14-kilometre journey from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach by her son Harry, daughter Judy and son-in-law Fred. She hopes to finish in a similar time to last year - about 150 minutes - which would put her about 39,000th in a field of 60,000. EDITOR'S NOTE: Tina finished 39,630th in 159.48. WELL DONE. |
An Australian woman who lost her legs during a terrorist attack in London three years ago has wrapped up a 435km trek in England. Gill Hicks, who suffered horrific injuries in the suicide bomb attacks on London tube trains and buses on July 7, 2005, completed the 30-day Walktalk hike from Leeds to London on her prosthetic limbs. The 38-year-old was accompanied by supporters who visited 22 towns on their journey in the hope of uniting people from different communities and faiths. After an emotional arrival at London's landmark Trafalgar Square today, Ms Hicks said: "All of us stepped into this journey with great faith and great belief that humanity would carry us through from town to town and that's exactly what happened. "For me to walk from Leeds to London is probably the single most difficult thing I could ever have imagined. "I still can't quite believe that I have achieved it but I never gave up because of the people that never gave up on me." During the trek, Hicks visited community centres, mosques, synagogues and churches and was joined at one stage by Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair and former 110m hurdles world record holder Colin Jackson. Hicks, who was born in Adelaide and has lived in England for 15 years, was the last person to be pulled alive from a Piccadilly tube train travelling between Kings Cross and Russell Square, where 26 people died.
Alan Waddell, Sydney's favourite walker, today finished walking his 250th suburb. In December 2002 Alan hit upon the idea of walking every street in every Sydney suburb after he got bored walking around the same block every day. We admire Alan (who we might point out is 93) so much that we invited him to be our first 'Champion of Walking'. Alan knows lots of interesting walks, and on our Champion's page you will find more information about Alan, including his favourite walks and some great photos.  Alan Waddell enjoys a refreshing drink in Hillsdale
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