A 104-year-old grandma is determined to finish her 26-mile walk for charity despite suffering from arthritis.
Ruth Saunders is a strongminded centenarian who was inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore to walk for charity after the war veteran raised over $41 million.
Despite experiencing pain in her leg due to arthritis, Saunders embarked on the challenge to finish 104 laps around her home totaling to 21 miles.
After nearly reaching the designated mileage, however, the great-great-grandmother decided to finish some 130 laps amounting to a total of 26.2 miles – the length of a marathon.
“I see him [Captain Tom Moore] doing it, but it was not really him that started me because I always do something for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance every year but I could not do any coffee mornings or anything like that this year,” the 104-year-old explained.
“It was through my granddaughter in France that I am doing it. I told her that I was doing it for the ambulance and that I was going to do my age and she said, ‘you can’t do that nanna!’ I said, ‘what do you mean I can’t do it?’ She said, ‘you’ve got to do a marathon.’
“So I have almost done my 104 laps. I think I have got about four more rounds to do. Then I think it will be about 30 more walks, because it is a fifth of a mile I do each time. I usually do two a day. Sometimes I will stretch and do three. I am looking at finishing maybe on November 2.”
As the centenarian admitted, she hopes to finish her ‘marathon’ before it gets too cold to walk around. Despite suffering from arthritis, Saunders also insists that exercising is good for her body.
She added: “My leg is painful, I have got arthritis in my left leg terribly. The walking does it good. It is the exercise it wants.
“It is no good sitting down with it and saying, ‘oh my poor leg I can’t do anything.’ I can’t sit for long, I have to get up and have a little walk around the house.”
As of this writing, the 104-year-old great-great-grandma has already raised nearly $30,000 for Thames Valley Air Ambulance via her JustGiving campaign.
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