Marathon man Toon Bodyslam has achieved his goal to raise 700 million baht for public hospitals, with 16 days and 690 kilometres still left in his epic adventure.
The rock star turned runner, also known as Artiwara Kongmalai, was in Chai Nat on Saturday when he learned that the fund-raising goal he had set had already been reached.
He is on the 39th day (including breaks) of a 55-day, 2,191-kilometre journey that is taking him from the country's southernmost point in Betong district of Yala to the northernmost tip at Mae Sai of Chiang Rai.
So far, according to the Kao Kon Lakao (everyone takes a step) website, he has run 1,500.3km in 270 hours on the road. He is scheduled to run through 20 more provinces to reach the finish line on Dec 25.
As he arrived in Chai Nat at 5am, the frontman of the popular band Bodyslam was welcomed by cheering supporters along the route. The crowd cooperated with requests from the rocker’s team by not obstructing his path to avoid hurting him.
He reached the 1,500km mark after crossing Chao Phraya River in the central province.
Toon will rest on Sunday and resume his marathon on Monday, heading toward Nakhon Sawan along Phahon Yothin Road.
Toon began his south-to-north journey on Nov 1 with a target to raise 700 million baht, or 10 baht each from the nearly 70 million people in Thailand. The donations will be given to 11 state hospitals for needed medical equipment.
He raised 85 million baht for Bang Saphan Hospital in December 2016 by running 400km from Bangkok to the hospital.
The sign shows that Toon has reached the 1,500km mark in Chai Nat. (Photo by Chudate Seehawong)
