PENRITH Panthers legend and Cowra Magpies junior Royce Simmons was cheered into Mount Panorama on Saturday as he completed day five of his 300-kilometre trek to raise money for dementia research.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Simmons announced in January that he had been diagnosed with dementia.
In an effort to make a difference in lives for people facing the same diagnosis, he established Royce's Big Walk to raise funds by walking 300 kilometres from his hometown of Gooloogong through to Penrith's Bluebet Stadium.
When he reached Bathurst on Saturday, mayor Robert Taylor, deputy mayor Ben Fry and others joined him for the remining distance to Mount Panorama.
"The walk was really good today. There was a lot of support along the way - a lot of people tooting their horns and waving and encouraging me along the way," Simmons said after arriving at the Mount on Saturday.
"It's been that way right from the start. You forget how people in the country are laidback, enjoy themselves and take some time to go out of their way to support you."
The arrival at Mount Panorama was made extra special for Simmons, with the man who coached him in the under 8s in Canowindra waving the flag as he crossed the track's finish line.
The two were able to spend a few minutes catching up and reminiscing.
"I didn't know who he was at first because obviously it was a long time ago, but it was just fantastic to spend 10 minutes with him talking about things of the past, mum and dad, and all them sort of things," Simmons said.
He thanked everyone who came out to support him, particularly those associated with the Bathurst Railway RLFC reunion.
"It was good to see all the boys from the Railway rugby league here, who by the way beat me playing for Cowra back in 1979," he said.
Simmons is set to arrive at Bluebet Stadium on May 27.
People can donate to Royce's Big Walk by visiting the website.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.westernadvocate.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News