Jill Campbell Mackay talks to an octogenarian who walks the world with a smile on his face
‘All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking’, Friedrich Nietzsche
EDI RAMSEIR is a man far nearer the end than the beginning of life, yet this Swiss born octogenarian can out-walk, out-talk and out-play most people half his age.
This month he celebrates 20 years of power walking, allowing him to lay claim to having circumnavigated the globe by clocking up 80,156 kms, 1,900 marathons, completed over 13,360 hours, while making over 11 million separate footsteps and wearing out a total of 18 pairs of shoes.
To look at him you could easily knock 15 from his 81 years, for this man is literally ‘lungs on legs’. He boasts a pair of streamlined thighs, coupled with an exceedingly pert bottom – both assets a direct result of walking.
‘Why?’ has to be the first question you ask someone like Edi, especially at an age when for most, the only challenging walk is the one made after leaving the local pub.
“I just love walking: always have done. As a young man, we would walk on a Sunday for six or seven hours and cover 25-30 kilometres. Switzerland is a country blessed with such wonderful landscapes and great mountains to walk up, so it’s really been a life-long habit.
“Walking gives you an opportunity to truly experience your environment first hand; it’s the ultimate connection between motion and the senses.
“I always get up at dawn and walk for a minimum of one hour every day – rain or shine. You can enjoy the seasons as they come and go, meet some other early risers, pat dogs, feed the odd stray cat, admire gardens and enjoy the sound of the birds – all the things you cannot do if encased in a car.”
How did he manage to work out his 20 year walking mileage with such accuracy?
“Well I am Swiss and I suppose close attention to detail is probably one of our national traits. I have always kept a daily record of my walks and also of my swimming, which I do every morning during the summer months. I log the number of kilometres travelled and make notes on the weather conditions, etc. It’s all there, carefully listed in 20 years’ worth of notebooks.”
Edi grew up in the cheese-producing region of Emmental. After a spell working for Swiss railways, he moved into the travel business, where he was based in New York for 27 years. His job allowed him to visit almost every country in the world.
This is a man whose passion is unrivalled; he genuinely boasts a marvellously happy and contented persona. There is almost a boyish enthusiasm about him as he talks of his hobbies and of taking up new challenges – the latest being his conquering of the Greek language (both written and spoken). This new skill will be added to his other linguistic feats, as he already speaks German (his mother tongue), English, French, Italian and Spanish.
The health benefits of walking are widely known but I was curious to know if Edi had experienced any of the ailments normally associated with ageing.
“I have never had a day sick in my life – except for measles when I was six years old. I have a blood pressure reading of 130 over 60 and that’s constant.
“Since my wife died nine years ago, I do all my own housework. I always cook a tasty balanced meal and with it I have a small glass of whisky. Everyday I test myself with a computer memory game, I also play patience and mah-jong just to keep the brain active, then I practice on my piano or the accordion for at least two to three hours a day.
What with the walking, swimming, brain games and music, I asked if perhaps he was not just a teeny bit overloaded with ‘must-do’ activities. Did he ever just slump on the sofa and just watch TV for an evening?
“I watch TV but not all evening – just the news. I am too busy, especially right now as I am organising one of my monthly musical evenings. That’s when friends and neighbours come to my house and we spend the evening singing all the wonderful songs from stage and film shows. I am trying to get lots of practice in for that as I accompany on the piano.
“I am someone who loves life so much, I want to keep living it in the best and most productive way I can. In the morning after I come home from a walk, I am just so happy that everything else I do during that day becomes pure joy.”
It’s not every day that one has the pleasure of meeting such a physically fit 81-year-old, boasting a brain with the same level of excellence as a fine Swiss watch – and yes, I did ask if he owned such a timepiece. Needless to say, it’s one that is accurate to 500 milliseconds per day.
