‘I feel fine,’ says octogenarian after 25-mile charity walk

Mr Baudains’ effort was inspired by the care his late wife Ann received while she was being treated in Carey Ward at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital as well as from the Guernsey Macular Society.

The money raised will be split between the two and by the end of his walk he had more than doubled his original £1,000 target, and was hoping to raise even more.

Meeting at the Liberation Monument at 3.30am he had a half-hour warm-up under the watchful eye of trainer Mark Prevel before heading south on the roads.

By 10.15am he was at Cobo and going strong.

‘I’m feeling really well,’ he said as he strode past Mim’s Kiosk.

‘It shows what people can do and it helps your mental health.’

He was joined throughout by a group of companions, including family and friends.

The aim was to stop for lunch ­– peanut butter and banana sandwiches – by the Vale Pond and he aimed to finish back at the monument at about 5.30pm.

But by 2pm he was well up on the clock and predicting a much earlier finish.

He walked up to the monument at about 2.50pm still doing a brisk pace. ‘I feel fine,’ he said.

Mr Prevel said that Mr Baudains had averaged a mile in 20 minutes on his route, completing the last one in 19 minutes – the same time as his first.

He had only started walking seriously in March, the day after his wife’s funeral when he woke up at 3am and, feeling unable to stay in the house, went for a walk.

Mr Prevel spotted him soon afterwards and the pair started training for his fundraiser. As of yesterday about £3,000 had been raised on JustGiving.

Mr Baudains said his late wife would have been surprised to see what he had achieved.

‘She’s been with me. She’s saying brilliant things because I’ve raised money for Carey Ward.’

He is already talking about another walk next year, when he turns 82 in April, when he wants to walk the cliffs.

‘I’m going to have a couple of days rest then start training again,’ he said.

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