Each year since 2014 my wife Corrie and I have walked one of Europe’s famous Camino trails to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we took the opportunity to look at our own backyard, driving and walking around NSW in 2020.
In 2021 with borders opened we traveled by car to Alice Springs to walk in the Adelaide Hills followed by walks in the Flinders Ranges. Not so much driving this time, rather setting up a base and walking close to that base. Once again this took place during the whole month of June. In 2022 we walked in a similar way between Berlin and The German Alps. In 2023 walked to all corners of Slovenia and through The Dolomites. Then in 2024 we intend to walk close to 500kms between Oslo and Trondheim.
Watch Will’s TEDx Talk.
Will weaves an inspiring and witty tale about his life after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s. This is a story of courage, spousal support and walking! This talk was given at TEDxKatoomba on 30th June 2023 Live production & filming by KFM Media.
Will was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2010 and told that his life would deteriorate slowly but dramatically. Being a person who strongly believes in confronting issues, he responded by donning a ‘Walking for Parkinson’s’ sign on his back and conquering the Camino de Compostela. Will Boag raises money for Shakeitup, a Parkinson’s Research charity founded by Clyde Campbell. Will and his wife Corrie have been doing this for 10 years raising over $60,000.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
Each year I write a book of poetry and prose about my journey.
Below are the PDF books of those walks. They all follow the same format. The general form shows Corrie and my experiences day by day, with a relevant photo. I then made up a saying that reflects something meaningful for me, followed by a poem that further highlights the day, but in a different form.
All of these writings have the added benefit of producing a neuroplastic experience as well, which challenged my brain. This is vital, as it is the brain that is mostly affected by Pd and is therefore more vulnerable to succumb to various unsettling symptoms including potential Alzheimers.
The books are progressive, so reading them in order from top to bottom highlights the progression of the disease as well as the steps taken to alleviate symptoms.
I hope some of the ‘over 200 poems’ delight you and some of the ‘over 200 sayings’ challenge you as you walk your path.
Finally, they can be downloaded by clicking on them, and if you think the book is a good read you can click on the link to Shake It Up at the top of this page where you can donate to research to find a cure for Pd.
My name is Will Boag and I have Parkinson’s disease.
However, I remain optimistic and positive that I can make sense of it by pursuing one of my passions in an enthusiastic and constructive way. So while not waiting for a cure, Corrie (my incredible wife), and I, decided to take a walk to raise awareness of Pd while also raising funds to help find this cure.
PD Warrior classes (which I began in September 2012, two years after diagnosis) have inspired me in pursuit of these walks below, and were instrumental in highlighting the need for my neuroplastic work which they combine with their classes. Ten years later I am walking 5-10 kms daily (all at a fast rate) and my symptoms are low to moderate.
In the glorious Spring of 2014 we took our first walk (over 800kms) across Spain on the Camino Frances.
The following Spring of 2015 we walked another 800 kms on the French part of the Camino, the ‘Chemin du Puy’, from Le Puy-en-Velay to Pamplona in Spain.
In the scorching heat of mid September 2016 we took an Autumn walk from the Italian Alps to Rome on the Italian leg of the ‘Via Francigena’ (over 800 kms).
In 2017 the mountains of Switzerland beckoned us with their beauty so we succumbed to the 650 kms wet Via Jacobi trip from Rorschach to Aosta (in Italy) via Lausanne, as the snow slowly melted all around us.
In 2018 we looked to Northern France and walked around 900 kms from the commencement of the Via Francigena in Canterbury U.K., to Pontarlier on the Swiss border.
In 2019, we walked most of the way from Lisbon to Santiago de Compostela along the ‘Camino Portuguese’.
In 2020 in June we walked around 400 kms along rivers, and through national parks around NSW on our poetic journey.
In 2021 we climbed hills and mountains in South Australia.
In 2022 walked the German camino from Berlin to Munich.
In 2023 we continued our new discoveries in Slovenia and The Dolomites.
Norway is our next test with Fiords and Mountains in 2024.