‘Ole George’ ready for walk-off against Lava Man

A walking showdown between Earl ‘Ole George’ Daniel and Desron ‘Lava Man’ Rodriguez is expected to be one for the history books as they attempt to out-walk each other across the length of the island.

The two will be going toe-to-toe in an endurance walk on November 24, 2022 starting at Heritage Square in Kingstown heading to Fitz Hughes and then to Fancy and back again until one person surrenders.

The veteran walker told SEARCHLIGHT after Lava Man issued the challenge to break his record, he felt compelled to come out of retirement for the match-up.

“I am not one to back down from anything, challenges are what I have been accepting all my life. No one has ever stepped forward to challenge me, so this is new to me.”

In 2007, Daniel and walking companion, Joel Butcher completed a seven-day no-sleep walk in hopes of making it into the Guiness Book of World Records for the longest continuous walk. In 2018 he sustained a fall during a dance endurance event after dancing for almost three days.

Daniel said his training routine for the November event consists of thrice weekly gym sessions, registering a minimum of 20,000 steps a day in addition to a strict diet. Despite being more than two decades older than Lava Man, 58-year-old Daniel said he does not believe his competitor’s youth will be an advantage in the event.

“Age is a limitation people use to stall their progress. The age factor is immaterial to me,” Daniel said.

He made a call for corporate entities to get on board with the event, as the funds raised will be donated to local organizations that assist persons with physical disabilities.

“Persons with disabilities have been marginalized for years. We still have not been able to fit them into our way of life with wheelchair access and some of them are shut-in.”

Daniel dubbed this event as his “goodbye walk for St. Vincent” and the penultimate endurance event in which he will participate, with his last international event set for Ghana in 2023.