Pretoria - Professor Sakkie Badenhorst, 77, has notched up 100 000km on his legs - and has no intention of stopping walking anytime soon.
The distance is equivalent to walking around the globe and moon twice, and doing the trip between Pretoria and Cape Town 68.5 times.
This is no mean feat, but the pensioner considers this a walk in the park.
Badenhorst walks around his Waterkloof Glen neighbourhood every morning, often starting off at 4am.
And on Thursday he said that he had taken the first step to reaching the 100000km he had walked in 18 years after he gave up golf in 1996 owing to a back injury.
The professor had not planned on walking that great a distance at the time; he just wanted to keep fit.
His method since the start has been to visualise and plot his route, imagining that he walked greater distances in landscapes other than his surroundings. This, he said, kept him motivated in times of fatigue.
“It inspired me beyond measure when after 460km, I could tell myself 'I am now in Bloemfontein' and later 'I am now in Beaufort West' after walking 1 000km. Later, I had walked the distance it would take to reach Cape Town,” Badenhorst said.
“Doing this visualisation gives me a sense of achievement which motivated me as my performance improved.”
Badenhorst said he would map out different routes around Pretoria from his home in Waterkloof Glen, and he had encountered his fair share of hurdles along the road.
“I’ve been attacked with a knife, an 18-inch monkey-wrench, people demanding money or a cellphone, and even stripped of my shoes.
“I also came across two of the most ferocious Rottweilers I had ever seen. They charged at me and I had to remain dead still for what felt like an eternity, until their owner came to get them.”
The former head of the department of urban and regional planning at the University of Pretoria said that despite having to find his way home half-naked, bloodied and dirty from one of his attacks, not once did he consider giving up his routine. “I suspect people accuse me of being obsessive about my walking, but it never bothered me as walking always gives me a head start to my day,” he said.
The professor said that waking up at 4am had become so much of a routine he tried to stick to it even during holidays.
His journey started on January 1, 1997, and he managed to complete 100 000km by October 7 this year.
Through his travels, Badenhorst said he had met many inspirational people and been given a few nicknames like “Morena, Baba, Forrest Gump”. His recent favourite was “Number One”, given to him by some people he met often.
He was also inspired by some he met along the road. “I met a woman who was undergoing chemotherapy, and despite the toll the treatment exerted on her she kept at it in a cheerful manner,” he said.
He recently ran into her and she told him she had received a clean bill of health and all that remained was the surgical removal of the affected tissue.
Badenhorst said walking had also done wonders for his own health and it benefited his psychological well-being.
“At no stage have I suffered an inkling of post-retirement stress since I retired as lecturer at UP, and I have mental mobility, have become more alert and even forgotten my back problems.”
He has gone through about 65 pairs of walking shoes in the 18 years, and said he had no plans to stop walking.