Søren Gissel is 83 years old, and has completed HAERVEJSMARCHEN 47 times. "It's a nice tradition. I've always liked to walk in nature. In my early years, I used to go with my grandfather, who walked with his beloved oak walking stick, which he always took with him on the terrain. I have never considered missing the annual experience of nature and people along the routes around Viborg during HAERVEJSMARCHEN.

I have also taken part in many other marches, including in the walking association Fodslaw. I completed the hike Hærvejsvandringen from Schleswig to Viborg a total of 11 times in July. I have also walked the four-day march in Nijmegen, in the Netherlands, several times," he says of his achievements in walking shoes.

Professionally, Søren Gissel was a furniture maker and produced Renaissance furniture, windows and doors. He also created furniture for pubs in Aarhus. 

"During a long life, it has been a soothing balm for both body and soul to experience the world which you breathe in and are part of when you walk in the fresh air, in the great outdoors, with so many happy and active people from all over the world", Søren Gissel finished off at Kasernehallen (The Sports Hall) in Viborg during HAERVEJSMARCHEN 2015, when we held a meeting for all the hikers who had taken part every year since the march’s inception in 1969.