(Image source from: Alarabiya.net)

A 103 year old Belgian man aims to walk a marathon around his garden to raise funds for coronavirus research. He is a retired doctor who is inspired by a hero in Britain who walked miles for charity funds.

Alfons Leempoels is a retired general practitioner who started the walking marathon with 42.2 km in the municipality of Rotselaar on June 1. And he aimed to finish it on June 30.

He has an everyday target to walk 10 laps of 145 meters(159 yards) in stages. The stages are set like this-three in morning, three at noon and four in the evening. The inspirational man works with his brilliance and does not lose the count. He keeps the count accurate by throwing a stick into the bowl every time he completes a lap.

The very inspiration behind the efforts of Leempoels is Tom Moore who was 100 year old. Tom raised funds of USD 40 million (Rs 3,03,22,00,000) by walking around his garden during world war II in Britain for the health service.

Leempoels said “My children said that I can walk at least as well as Tom Moore and on top of that I am 103 years old”

"So they suggested that maybe I should do something. My granddaughter had just run a marathon and as a joke I said: I will run a marathon." He would contribute his funds to the hospital attached near the university of Leuven. There researchers are working on a cure for COVDI-19.

He raised 6,000 Euros (Rs 5,16,600) till now and has finished one third of the distance of a marathon.

The man went back to the history of 1957-58 when people suffered with an Asian flu pandemic but it was much more a quick recovery compared to COVID pandemic.

He said “As a doctor you feel touched by this and that's why I was happy now that I might be able to contribute something to fight the coronavirus”

By Ramya C