"World exercise champion" walks backward to help children
(Wellsboro Gazette)

Bill Kathan Jr., a former New England dairy farmer, sleeps in his van if no lodging is affordable. When no one offers him a ride back to it, he walks backward to and from the van, counting all miles toward his goal.

A journey of 3,000 miles begins with a first step. For Bill Kathan Jr., that first step, and every one thereafter, was backward.

Kathan started a walk from Hartford, Ct., to Los Angeles, Ca., on April 5. He plans to walk backward across the U.S. to promote his "Youth Development Foundation." Kathan accepts pledges up to $1 per mile for the 3,000-mile journey through his web site, www.mrbillydf.com.

"This is not for me. It's to do with the children," Kathan said. "I want to help kids learn to get along. I want to teach them to do things with their talents and to talk with a civil tongue."

Kathan, 54, began promoting physical fitness in about 2000, and now holds world records for dozens of calisthenic exercises. According to his web site, Kathan set the first records for one-finger and two-finger pushups, and Guinness Wold Records recognized him for a record in backhand pushups. He trains to break those and other records when he is not walking. "People call me the 'World Exercise Champion,' Kathan said.