GWR: How Seidu Rafiwu overcame misfortune ahead of walk-a-thon

The young Ghanaian man who recently completed a Guinness World Record attempt for the longest distance covered on foot, Seidu Rafiwu, has shared his story of overcoming a series of misfortunes to claim a new record for the longest distance walked by an individual.

Speaking on a live radio discussion on Onua FM, Rafiwu revealed the challenges he faced on the first day of the challenge, including the theft of a borrowed motorbike and the malfunction of his mobile phone, which was crucial for tracking his journey.

"A day before the record attempt, some unfortunate events happened to me. I had taken my friend’s motorbike for a ride and parked it. After climbing upstairs to our storey building and returning, I found that someone had stolen the motorbike.

"The morning of the day to start the record attempt, I was holding my phone when it suddenly fell, and the screen stopped functioning. It was the same phone we were going to use to track the record attempt," Rafiwu recounted.

Despite these setbacks, Rafiwu's determination remained unshaken. His team member, Inshurat Abubakar, quickly adapted by transferring the tracking app to a new phone, although this resulted in a two-hour delay to the start of their endeavor.

Beginning on April 27, Rafiwu embarked on his monumental walk from Techiman to Accra, covering an impressive distance of 383 kilometers in 96 hours.

On April 30, he completed the walk-a-thon, surpassing the previous record set in September 1976 by Jesse Casteneda, who walked 228.930 kilometers in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

ID/GA

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