Follow Zac on his 300-mile 'walk home'
Monday 11 June 2018
UNCONVENTIONAL student Zac Fox has opted to walk home from Uni – all the way to Chelmsford, Essex!
The Acoustics final-year says the 300-mile trek is in memory of his father Ian who inspired him to become an engineer.
The 23-year-old has already smashed his £2,000 fundraising target raising £3,500 just 10 days into the 20-day cross-country trek.
Zac said: “It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t been affected by cancer these days. My dad died of lung cancer when I was 19, just three weeks after his diagnosis. So all the money I raise will bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.”
'Tracker'
With this finals done and a graduate job secured with acoustic consultancy firm Sandy Brown, Zac packed a rucksack, posed for a photoshoot at the ‘Ambition’ sign on The Crescent and began the 15-mile-a-day walk which takes in a Manchester, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Cambridgeshire and a final stretch down to Essex on June 20.
Zac has prepared a Facebook ‘tracker’ and open invite for friends,family and strangers to join him on the walk.
“I’ve had quite a few people I don’t even know cheering me along and offering me hospitality of their homes for the night,” he told us from asunny field in Peterborough.
“My mates Alex and James have joined me for stretches, as have my girlfriend and my sister. It’s all very sociable.
“The toughest thing actually has been the heat. It’s scorching out here!”
Train sets
Memories of his father follow him on his way; the pair used to build bikes and model trains together giving Zac a love of making things which helped earn him his 2:1 from Salford.
Sadly Ian's sudden passing on Zac’s 19th birthday changed his son’s view of life: “It has made my birthday hard to stomach so every year I have donated all birthday presents to Cancer Research UK.”
To help Zac’s mission, see this fundraising page https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/zacs-giving-page-3,or follow updates from his journey at https://www.facebook.com/TrackZac/.
You can also track his journey via a live map. https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=192b25b0d94ff0171c
Or you can catch up with Zac back in Salford for his Graduation Ceremony on 17 July.
Find out more
Gareth Hollyman, Senior Press & PR Officer (Science)
0161 295 6895 g.b.hollyman@salford.ac.uk
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