“Sore all over, but really proud of myself” was how Matthew Catania, 18, described his feelings when he finished the 102-kilometre walk all around Malta on Saturday, in the record time of 15 hours and 30 minutes.
Matthew said that apart from the pride he felt in completing what he called a “big physical feat” and setting a record, what he was most proud of was that this was an act for charity, as the funds raised were to go to l-iStrina.
Even though he felt really tired at the end, his motivation to complete it was strong, he said. He added that he felt they had done a good job as a team, and said he could not have made it without the support of his teammates.
The walk, organised by Andrew Agius and Timothy Zammit, two scouts from the St Aloysius College (SAC) Rover Crew and Venture Unit, in aid of l-iStrina, was taken on when the scouts decided to challenge this record.
The last record was set in January 1966 when two senior scouts, Paul Farrugia and Victor Bezzina, both 17 at the time, broke the previous record of 23 hours and 38 minutes, making the 60 mile walk around the coast in 20 hours and 30 minutes.
The seven scouts from the SAC group decided to challenge this record, and last Saturday morning set off from Qawra at 8am. At the same time individuals and companies pledged to support the seven scouts in this challenge for l-iStrina.
For a number of weeks in the past, the seven have been training over the weekends in order to ensure they had the physical strength to undertake such a gruelling challenge.
Unfortunately there were some injuries along the way, and some scouts had to stop. Two of the scouts actually stopped in St Julian’s, Mr Zammit said, just some two hours short of the finish line. The aim was met however, as they broke the record, and it was certainly what one would call a team effort.
To keep track of their journey, the scouts would check in at each police station along the route, and had the policeman on duty sign their log card.
They would like to thank the President, George Abela, the Police Commissioner and all the police on duty, and Captain Mark Mallia, as without all their support, the event would not have been possible. Mr Zammit pointed out that the police went out of their way to facilitate things for the scouts.