The Thirteenth walk organised by Itex in association with the Rotary Clubs of Guernsey was a resounding success this weekend.

The Walk and Mini-Walk took place on Saturday 5th June starting at the White Hart pub in St. Peter Port and at Bordeaux for the Mini-Walk.

There were 487 starters for the 40mile walk around Guernsey’s coastline, with many others starting at different checkpoints. A further 30 people completed the Mini-Walk.

• Paul Smith was first past the line at 12.05 pm - 7 hours and 30 minutes in, despite Walk organizers stressing that it was not a race.
• The 5-mile mini-walk saw old and young take part, with a 93 year old taking part once again this year.
• The youngest was Fraser who at 8 years old who was “looking forward to an ice-cream at Pleinmont”. Fraser was accompanied by his brother Oliver (age 10,) and father.
• At least 5 dog breeds were seen: a golden Labrador puppy, a Jack Russell racing his companion black Labrador companion at Corbiere steps, a Huskie- type breed pulling his owner along.

Many of the walk refreshment checkpoints were sponsored including HSBC, Investec, Nordben, Deloitte’s, Norman Piette, Close Bank, Saffrey Champness and Deutsche Bank

Muscular discomfort from walking was alleviated thanks to the help of the Chiropractic and Massage Clinic (CMC) who operated massage stations all along the west coast. This year Walkers were sporting bright red T-shirts provided by Airtel-Vodafone.

Richard Parker, Itex Managing Director said: “This year’s Itex-Rotary walk has been a fantastic event. We wholeheartedly thank our volunteers who put such effort into making the day run smoothly, our very generous sponsors who provide funding and their time, and all of the walkers for their sponsorship raising activity. Taking part and completing the Itex-Rotary Walk is a great achievement.

Previous walks raised over £350,000 in Guernsey with £53,000 distributed in 2009 to more local charities than in any previous year. Jannine Birtwistle, secretary for Rotary Guernsey said that over £23,000 had been raised so far but plenty more sponsorship monies are due to come in from all the individual walkers sponsorships. They hoped to beat the 2009 total of £53,000.

This year the Itex-Rotary Walk is supporting The Guernsey Arts Commission, Guernsey Scouts World Jamboree, The Guernsey Sailing Trust, The Lihou Charitable Trust, The Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Guernsey Cheshire Home.