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Ed, walking for Age Concern.
Pushing boundaries in aid of local charity

Pushing boundaries in aid of local charity

Ed Franklin, 61, began his walking challenge to raise funds for Age Concern in January and has so far clocked up over 200 miles

Tony Bryant

Friday, 5 February 2021, 14:50

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A Benalmádena-based British resident has launched a challenging task to raise funds for Age Concern Fuengirola/ Mijas/ Benalmádena by endeavouring to walk 2021 miles over the course of this year.

Ed Franklin, 61, began his challenge in January and has so far clocked up over 200 miles. Because of boundary closures, the energetic expat is currently walking along the promenade in Benalmádena Costa, where he has lived since retiring in 2017.

Ed, who became involved with Age Concern in 2019 when he helped set up the Benalmádena drop-in centre, hopes to raise 2021 euros for the charity by attempting to walk an average of 500,000 steps per month.

Long road ahead

However the fundraiser, who admits that he is "not what you would call athletic", is taking care not to push himself too much, as there is still a long road ahead.

"I'm off to a decent start, but I need to maintain that for another 11 months. I sometimes get shin splints if I don't stretch my calves properly before starting out. It often starts after a mile or so and can last for up to an hour, but eventually wears off," Ed told SUR in English.

Ed has set up a GoFundMe page for people to support the cause with donations, and is also publishing a daily report on his Facebook page (www.facebook.com/w2021in2021) to keep supporters up to date with his progress.

"I have never attempted anything of this scale before. I tried to make an effort to walk regularly last year, but I found it difficult to keep motivated as I have arthritis of the hip.

"The difference this time is that I am determined to succeed and raise some funds for a charity close to my heart," he explained

Age Concern secretary Steve Marshall said, "With the never-ending coronavirus situation we are having to look outside the box for ways to raise money, so we are delighted with Ed's attempt to complete this challenging campaign."

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