Professor and Son Near End of Walk Across Kansas

Hays native Sandra Billinger, an assistant professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center and her son were nearing the end of their cross-Kansas walk to raise funds for stroke research.

This is the route Billinger and her son walked across the state. Click on the photo for a closer look.

Billinger and her 20-year-old son, Michael Thomas, were expected to make it to the medical center campus in Kansas City, Kan., around 4 p.m. Friday after walking 23 days across the state.

Billinger told The Lawrence Journal-World she got the idea for the 570-mile trip from her son as they were trying to find a way to mark the finish of his classes at Johnson County Community College.

Billinger’s lab focuses on the benefits of physical activity for stroke survivors, so she decided the walk was a good way to raise money for equipment to study the benefits of exercise.