Waterdown man, 70, walks 70 km raising money for Alzheimer’s Society of Canada

At 70 years old, one Waterdown man is showing no signs of slowing down and today he’s also walking 70 kilometres all for a good cause. He’s calling it 70 at 70-Walking for Memories, it’s all to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada.

When CHCH News caught up with Manny Maciel and Don Cox in Flamborough this morning, they had already been walking for seven hours straight and they were just over halfway done.

“I feel good, it hurts sometimes,” said Cox. “I feel fantastic and there is no limit on what you can do with your age,” Maciel said.

At 70 years old, Manny Maciel is walking 70 kilometres non-stop around Flamborough and Waterdown.

When asked why he was doing the walk Maciel replied, “for all those impacted by Alzheimer’s. But a very special person, my father-in-law Ray, he was diagnosed three years ago, so we are walking for him.”

And his father-in-law who he’s walking for was there supporting him today.

“What Manny is doing is pretty awesome, we really appreciate it. And there’s a lot of people that are affected. It affects their whole family,” said Trudy O’Donell, Maciel’s mother-in-law. “He’s doing pretty good. But you can always use research, which is what this is all about.”

According to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada, almost 800,000 people in this country have dementia. And every day, more than 414 people in Canada develop dementia. By 2030, nearly 1 million people in Canada could live with dementia.

The goal today was to raise $50,000 for the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada and they reached that goal this morning. They wrapped up the 12-hour walk at 4 p.m. Saturday.

So will he do it again?

When asked, “are you going to top yourself next year?” Maciel said, “let’s see what 75 brings, but I wouldn’t put it out of the way.”

More information about the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada can be found on their website.

And those wishing to donate to Manny’s walk can visit their GoFundMe page.

WATCH MORE: Oakville man set to run across Canada to raise money for youth scholarships