OTTAWA -- A 36-hour, 175-kilometre walk came to an end for Dylan Pace and his team of Canadian Army veterans.
"At 47 kilometres we were already at 60,200 steps," said Pace at the end of the Walk for the Wounded.
If you do the math, that's over 220-thousand steps from Petawawa to the National War Memorial in Ottawa.
The two-day trek raised money for Wounded Warriors Canada, an organization that provides mental health support to Canadian veterans and first responders.
"When we first started out, I think it was about seven weeks ago we came up with the idea. And from that until now, we could not have guessed we’d be walking in with an Ottawa Police escort to a crowd like this," said Pace on Sunday afternoon.
"We’re blown away. So I really want to say thank you to those who donated, those who shared, those who came out."
This was no walk in the park. The group wore weighted vests, and that’s not all. They did 22 push-ups every hour, on the hour. Equal to 792 push-ups over the 36-hour period. The number represents the 22 American veterans who die by suicide every day.
Dozens of cheering friends and family greeted them as they arrived at their final destination in downtown Ottawa. Many saying how proud they were of their accomplishment.
Supporter Stephanie McEvoy says, "They are the true heroes. Our military, our veterans. They write a blank cheque for their lives. And we owe them so much."
"And along with it try to raise $22 thousand. And actual fact, they just broke the $30 thousand fundraising mark when we arrived,” says Scott Maxwell, Executive Director at Wounded Warriors Canada.
Thrilled to not only surpass their goal, but to finally give their legs a break.
"They’re pretty tender," says Pace. "I had shin splints coming in about 25 kilometres in. So the last 150 was quite a grind."
"Well it wasn’t easy, I’ll say that for sure. But would I do it again? Absolutely," says Scott Simpson, another veteran who participated in the walk. “Pretty sore. Very stiff. But nothing that a beer and a bath can't fix, right?”
