Vermont man walking across U.S. backward for charity
Published: July 4, 2007
Last month, a Vermont man began a cross-country walk to raise money for a worthwhile cause. But he’s going about it in a way that makes it a little harder to do and more time-consuming.
Bill Kathan is going cross country, walking backward. In all, he has about 3,000 miles to go. The 54-year-old started on April 5 in Hartford, Conn., and plans to finish in Portland, Ore.
He decided the make the journey, going in an unconventional way.
“It’s a big challenge. I like it.” Kathan said. “It might take me five months. It all depends on how many miles I put on a day. I’m up to 20 to 25 miles a day now. I’d like to get up to 30.”
Besides the challenge of going backward, he also has to make sure he remains safe on busy roads.
“So every once in a while, I got to check back like this, and then I just keep watching the traffic and making sure they got plenty of room and I just keep continue going on,” he said.
Kathan has his own chase support vehicle that he keeps all of his gear, food and shoes in. He actually drives it himself during the course of the cross-country walk.
Depending on the weather, he walks several miles backward and then turns around and goes back to get the truck. He’ll move it up and then repeats the process.
“I did have somebody at one time that was going to go out with me, but he got sick. So, I said I’ll go out myself,” Kathan said.
He is raising money for the Youth Development Foundation, a group that helps keep teenagers on the right track.
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