Wolverhampton fundraiser begins clocking up laps in fundraiser walking around Molineux Stadium
There were cheers for a charity fundraiser as he began the biggest walk to nowhere he has ever undertaken.
A large crowd of supporters were there to see Manny Singh Kang off as he began his 48-hour walk around Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton at 4.30pm on Thursday from the Billy Wright statue on Waterloo Road.
Supporters joining him at the start included Wolves supporters, members of Dementia UK and Tony Perry, the father of Wolves Foundation ambassador Suzi Perry.
Under rainy skies, the 51-year-old began the first lap of a walk which will see him repeatedly lap the stadium over the next two days, finishing at the statue at 4.30pm on Saturday, an hour ahead of the Premier League fixture between Wolves and Liverpool.
The walk, which is in aid of Dementia UK, is the latest in a number of big walking challenges Manny has completed, having previously walked from Molineux to Stamford Bridge in West London and from Molineux to St James's Park in Newcastle.
As he started, he said it was an emotional experience to be there and to have some many people there to support him, as well as saying that the event was one for everyone to join him on.
He said: "It's emotional and the body's quite numb, but it's amazing to see all these people turn up, especially with the weather being like it is, and it's for the cause of Dementia UK and we need to help these people.
"Every step I take is a step closer to a little more comfort for those people who are living with this condition.
"With this walk, I wanted to give fans the opportunity to come and join me and play their part as well and there are people joining me today and I've got school children from year six at Long Knowle joining me, as well as people from Manchester and Sussex, so it's open for everyone to come and join me."
Among those there to support Manny on the start of the walk was Ray Bisbey, who had travelled from Hastings to be there and had had his own experiences with the effects of dementia.
He said: "I lost my wife Joyce to dementia seven weeks ago and I've been following Manny on social media for quite a while now and I'm originally from Wolverhampton, so I thought it would be a nice gesture to come up here and wish him all the best and tell him how grateful I am for everything he's doing for Dementia UK.
"It helped me and my wife immensely and the fact that Dementia UK now has more nurses that ever before and that part of it is down to Manny is fantastic."
Other supporters there to wish Manny well were Afzal Abbas and Akeel Hussain from Manchester, who had interviewed Manny on their podcast Brown Munde and said he was an inspiration to them.
Afzal said: "Through our podcast, we are trying to represent South Asian fans of football, not just Manchester United fans, but fans in general and I had come across one of Manny's posts and something about him just hit me.
"We read about his walk to Newcastle and I was just struck by it, being a South Asian lad, with him being in St James's Park and how insane it was to see someone of Manny's age doing it as we don't always see it from the older generation.
"I think what stood out most was that he's not stubborn, he's very positive and humble and he's an inspiration."
Manny Singh Kang will be walking around Molineux Stadium until 4.30pm on Saturday and has invited anyone who wants to join him to do so.
To find out more and to donate, go to his JustGiving page.
