Toon chill, as he is inches towards finish
“Toon” Kongmalai continued his run in Chiang Rai amid thick morning fog in chilly 8 degrees Celsius, determined to cover the final 60 kilometers stretch on Sunday to reach the finish line by December 25 as planned.
So far Toon – who has been voted in a Bangkok Poll survey as the most admirable person of the year (83.5 per cent), overwhelmingly beating Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha (11.1 per cent) – has run for 42 days covering 2,134.73 kilometres. The donations he is raising for 11 public hospitals via the cross-country charity run since November 1 have amounted to Bt991,012,267 as of 7 am on Sunday. Toon set himself the target of running from the southernmost tip of Yala’s Betong district to Mae Sai, a distance of 2,191 kilometers, when he embarked on the campaign.
He departed Pu Kaeng School in Chiang Rai’s Phan district around 3am on Sunday and was joined by famous Muay Thai kickboxer Corporal Sombat “Buakaw” Banchamek along with some Thai celebrities. Toon appeared to be cheerful although he had just recovered from an injury that forced him to rest for two hours in the Mae Jai district of Phayao province the previous day. Toon was cheered on by local residents who braved the winter chill and handed him cash for his cause along the way.
Chiang Rai Pracha Nukhro Hospital, which will be among 11 hospitals that will benefit from the donations raised by Toon’s campaign, also saw its own personnel raising Bt300,000 from among themselves and the public, deputy hospital director Prakaikaew Kakham said. She said the hospital had also prepared a rite of Bai Sri Su Kwan to welcome Toon at Rai Chern Tawan in Muang Chiang Rai on Tuesday. Source: Asia Ntion
