Rocker Toon Bodyslam's charity marathon is close to topping 1 billion baht in cash donations as the popular singer is about to complete his 2,191-kilometre journey in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district tomorrow.
The singer, whose real name is Artiwara Kongmalai, yesterday started his 60km run at the University of Phayao in Muang district of Phayao at 3am, when the temperature dropped to 9 degrees Celsius.
He was greeted by a large crowd of locals, including a 82-year-old woman who handed him banknotes folded into a lotus flower as well as samples of the local chilli paste.
Students from Boromarajonani College of Nursing also sang to encourage the singer as he ran past their facility.
Toon was welcomed by thousands of university students. However, there were reports Toon suffered pain in his back and left shoulder as some students stepped in and tried to grab him for a selfie with them.
The singer's personal guards were working extra hard to keep the roadside well-wishers at arm's length to allow the singer to continue his run uninterrupted.
The injuries forced the singer to adjust the target distance of the run yesterday.
Although Toon suffered some injuries, he stopped from time to time to greet people who turned up along the road to give him moral support.
Toon was due to complete his journey yesterday in Phan district of Chiang Rai, which is less than 100km from his final destination in Mae Sai district.
As of late afternoon yesterday, his charity run campaign had clocked up cash donations worth 981 million baht during his 2,089km run over the past 41 days.
Toon began his epic run in Yala's Betong district on Nov 1 and plans to complete his journey in Mae Sai district tomorrow. Every baht he receives in donations will go to 11 state hospitals to purchase medical supplies and equipment.
The amount of donations solicited to date has far surpassed the target of 700 million baht, a milestone which was reached in Chai Nat province on the 39th of the planned 55 days of the run. That was when he had covered 68% of the planned distance of 2,191km.
Meanwhile, Toon also emerged as the most popular figure in recent opinion polls.
According to a survey by Super Poll, he is among the most popular figures in the entertainment industry with 53% of respondents voting for him. He was followed by Patcharapa "Aum" Chaichue, a popular actress, with 7.5%.
The Super Poll also revealed popular figures in politics; Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha coming out top with 54%; Chuvit Kamolvisit, the former leader of Rak Thailand Party, with 27%; and Abhisit Vejjajiva, the former premier and Democrat Party leader, with 7.9%.
The survey was conducted from 1,116 respondents from Dec 10-22.
Also, the E-Saan Poll, conducted by Khon Kaen University's E-Saan Centre for Business and Economic Research, showed Toon gained the top spot in the category of social activists with 28%, followed by actor and philanthropist Bin Banleurit with 9.8% and Pavena Hong-sakul, the former social development and human security minister, with 6%.
The survey, conducted from July 1-3 and Dec 14-17, covered 2,548 respondents, 18 years and older, in 20 northeastern provinces.