Casey athlete Fred Brooks walked 300 kilometres in four days and three hours as part of the City of Casey’s Positive Ageing Champions Program.26300
By Kelly Yates
A VETERAN Casey athlete has proved that age is no barrier when it comes to achieving things in life.
Cranbourne resident Fred Brooks completed a 300-kilometre walk in four days and three hours on 7 January as part of the City of Casey’s Positive Ageing Champions Program.
The 75-year-old decided to complete the walk, which was based on the distance that encompasses the boundary of the City of Casey, as a way of giving something back to the community.
Mr Brooks spent two months training in preparation for the walk.
The walk began in Cranbourne North, with Mr Brooks walking through Hampton Park to Narre Warren.
Mr Brooks told the News the walk was hard and tiring.
“I’m not a young man anymore,” he laughed.
“I did about 54 hours of walking all up.”
Despite taking a tumble during the walk, which left Mr Brooks with cuts to his legs, he said his next goal was to complete a 500-kilometre walk around Casey Fields in 10 days.
Mr Brooks said the key to ageing positively was acting responsibly.
“Community members need to get out and simply enjoy life,” he said.
Mr Brooks became a local identity after becoming the oldest man in the world to walk 100 miles in less than a day back in 2001.
“I walked 161km in 22.5 hours at a running track in Coburg,” he said.
Casey mayor Geoff Ablett said Mr Brooks was an inspiration to all and was living proof that anything was possible, at any age, if you put your mind to it.
For more information please call council’s Positive Ageing Programs officer on 9705 5200.
