For every step of the 180 kilometres between Grande Praire and Grande Cache, Brysen Howe could only hope he was making as big a difference as he wanted.
He had no idea it would get to this point, though, with the total just after the dash sitting at more than $17,000 and climbing.
“Maybe if I hit $5,000 I wouldn’t have been as surprised, but to get almost $20,000 and I’m [almost] sure I’m going to get up there, but it’s crazy,” 12-year-old Howe said.
Brysen, who along with his family started the walk on August 27th and ripped through the finish line on September 1st, says you could almost forget you were constantly walking, because of the support he felt and heard from motorists and well-wishers along the route.
“Every 10 seconds it seemed like you would get a honk. For every couple of vehicles, pretty much everyone would be honking, it was amazing.”
However, the walk isn’t technically over yet. Howe was unable to walk through an extended construction zone on the trek to Grande Cache, and he has pledged to make up a further 27.2 kilometres over the next couple of weeks to hit the 187-kilometre mark and stay true to his word.
He says the steps clocked so far though did leave a bit of an impression.
“I felt pretty good, you have to push a bit, but the hills were certainly there, you could tell the hills were there,” he laughed.
All the money raised in the lead up to and including the walk itself will go to the Canadian Cancer Society.