Zach Saraceni left his Kitchener home Saturday with the goal of walking to Woodstock in 12 hours.
“It started off as a joke between a couple buddies,” he explained. “They didn’t think I could walk to Woodstock. They said they’d give $500, and I said, you know what? Game on.”
“We bet on a lot of things,” said his friend Cam Wilhelm. “He’s a pretty stubborn guy and he’s going to follow through with this.”
Saraceni had initially planned the walk for last October, but he was sidelined by a sports injury.
That’s when he got the idea to turn that bet between friends into something more.
“I decided I didn’t want to take the money for myself. I thought it would be a good idea to put it towards a good cause.”
Saraceni’s mother and his late aunt had both battled breast cancer.
“Zachary was very close to his aunt,” said his mother Pat Spurgeon. “He was nine when she passed away and that was his very first experience with loss.”
Seven years later, Spurgeon was also diagnosed with the disease.
“My mom… she’s like my best friend,” said Saraceni. “She always looks out for me. She just means so much to me.”
He has already surpassed his fundraising goal for the walk.
“We’re just really proud of the guy,” said Wilhelm.
