For a sick child

Athlete duo runs 700 kilometers in ten days

Extreme athletes Günter Dieplinger and Christian Maierhofer together with the sick Simon (9) and the initiator of the fundraising campaign, Paul Huber (from left).(Bild: Günter Dieplinger)

They not only have "muscles" in their legs, but also sunshine in their hearts! The two extreme athletes from Innviertel, Günter Dieplinger and Christian Maierhofer, are running around Upper Austria so that a family from Obernberg am Inn can rebuild their house barrier-free for their seriously ill son Simon (9).

Overcoming their own pain threshold to help others - that is what Christian Maierhofer (56) and Günter Dieplinger (53) intend to do. The two from the Innviertel region want to circumnavigate Upper Austria. But not comfortably by car, but on foot within ten days. Why are they doing this? "We are running for a nine-year-old boy called Simon from Obernberg am Inn," says Dieplinger.

A stairlift to help Simon and his mother
Simon suffers from Hunter's disease, a metabolic disorder. "He can't express himself," explains his mother Bettina (34) in an interview with Krone. In addition, he has children'salzheimer's and shortening muscles, making it increasingly difficult for the nine-year-old to walk. There are twelve steps to the second floor of the house. "Simon sometimes leaves himself behind when climbing the stairs. He thinks he's going to leave everything to his mother," says Bettina with a twinkle in her eye. "A stairlift would make things a lot easier for us. It would be a great relief to know that we could stay in the house and take the child upstairs."

Sponsorship is requested
This is where the two so-called ultra runners come in. They want to collect donations with their run to enable the family to rebuild the house. "We will be accompanied by a team in a bus that will visit companies along the way and ask for sponsorship," says Dieplinger. Private individuals can also support the campaign financially. The athletes will sleep in accommodation along the route, starting on April 22 in Mühlheim am Inn. Ten days and 700 kilometers later, they want to arrive back there. "You can't train for it," says runner Dieplinger about the preparation. "It's a mental thing."