Step by step

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This article was published 24/03/2025 (292 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Jared Brown set off on a stroll on March 25, 2020, little did he know he would still be putting his best foot forward five years later.

What started as a way to keep boredom at bay when the COVID-19 pandemic first struck has turned into an epic adventure. The 40-year-old has walked every day since then, whatever the weather, racking up more than 15,000 kilometres.

On Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. Brown will mark the fifth anniversary of his daily rambles by inviting Winnipeggers to join him on his 1,825th walk.

He plans to start at the western edge of the Perimeter Highway on Portage Avenue, walking downtown towards Portage and Main before continuing on Main Street to The Forks, where he promises a free meal for those who stay the course.

“I’m asking people to meet at around 2:45 p.m. in the Super 8 Hotel carpark on Portage Avenue so we can all set off at 3 p.m. I’m treating everyone who joins the walk to dinner at Nuburger. I am friends with the owners and want to support them. I’m hoping for a possible discount,” he says with a laugh.

Brown is also using the occasion to raise funds for the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation after his girlfriend of six years, Julia, was diagnosed with Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in November last year.

The foundation raises funds for programs and services that are not eligible for funding from Manitoba Health.

He decided to raise $1,825 — a dollar for each day of his walks. He posted the intention on his Instagram account last week, hoping to raise at least $1,800 but far exceeded his goal in the next 24 hours, raising a total of $6,000.

And the amount continues to climb. At last count Brown has raised more than $17,500. His new goal is to hit $18,000 by the time the walk ends tomorrow.

Every single cent raised will go to the foundation, Brown stresses.

“This is not a fundraiser for Julia; this is not going towards her treatment,” he says. “All the money is going towards research, and for people who might get sick and might not be able to afford everything that comes with it. Every little bit counts.”

True to form, Brown will walk from his house to the Super 8 tomorrow. He hopes to meet fellow walkers on his way there before they all head off to The Forks together.

He plans on sharing Instagram stories throughout the walk and welcomes people to join at any stage, and for however long they want.

“A shocking amount of people have said they would like to join, but it also all depends on the weather. You never know, the end of March it might be a blizzard or it might be beautiful and sunny. I have walked through basically every single type of weather possible, so I am prepared for anything.

“I am not expecting people to do the whole thing. You can walk towards the end, or you can start with me and walk home or you can just walk from the end of your street,” he says.

Julia is back at work after undergoing treatment. Her family will be walking tomorrow, and she hopes to join at some point, too.

“I think it’s awesome he’s doing this,” she says. “He has raised a pretty astounding amount of money in so little time. It’s special that it’s in my honour, but to me, it’s also about everyone else dealing with this and what the money can fund for others in Manitoba.”

Julia and their two dogs sometimes walk with Brown, but he tends to keep his longer rambles solo because he enjoys the solitude walking alone brings — and the chance to concentrate on his podcasts.

“Truthfully I have discovered a real love for podcasts. If Julia comes along I can’t listen,” he laughs. “When she does come with me, then our walk is on top of what I have already done.”

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Tomorrow’s stroll may seem long to some, but it’s not the furthest Brown has walked. In June 2021, he and Julia surprised his dad by walking to his house in Windsor Park on Father’s Day.

“We started off from my house in Charleswood. That was the furthest I have ever done in one stretch,” he recalls. “It was almost the distance of the half marathon — the marathon didn’t take place that year because of COVID — and when we got to his street we were a little bit short of the half-marathon distance, so we did a loop around and made it to his front door to say hi.

“He was shocked to see us and even more surprised to hear that we’d walked that far to see him.”

The volleyball coach wasn’t much of an outdoor walker before this, preferring to work out in the gym. He’d begun exercising seriously in 2018 as part of a lifestyle change.

“I used to be 225 pounds when I started working out and up to that point I was not someone who did much exercise,” he says. “I began going to the gym five times a week, I did cardio and I got myself in much better shape.”

The temporary closure of public spaces during the pandemic motivated him to get moving outside.

On his very first day Brown walked a total of six kilometres, going from his house to Silver Heights to visit his father, who worked there at the time.

“I did it almost out of boredom. It was in the afternoon, and I was sitting at home watching TV. I remember being so excited to get out of the house and do something different,” he says. “I knew I wanted to go out and do it again the next day.”

Since he first began walking, Brown has been through six pairs of shoes and countless pairs of socks. In warmer weather he strides in his Nikes and he rotates among three pairs of boots in the winter.

He doesn’t take a lot on his walks, leaving the house with just his Apple Watch and an old iPhone, with no data, loaded up with Bill Simmons, Ryen Russillo, Chris Jericho and the Rewatchables podcasts.

“I walk because it truly makes me happier than anything else in my life. I am always on my phone or computer for work, and it allows me to break free,” he says, adding that he plans his whole day’s activities around his walks. “I find it very relaxing, but I also know this is how I remain healthy.”

In the five years of his daily rambles he has discovered new paths around local neighbourhoods and found routes into and around the city he never knew about.

And winter walking doesn’t faze him. When it’s cold enough, he heads straight for the frozen river.

One of his most memorable jaunts took place on Jan. 29, 2021.

“I walked through Charleswood to Assiniboine Park and then went down from the footbridge to the river. Then I just started walking and let out a huge cheer when I saw the Hugo Docks. I knew I was close to The Forks and could make it to the end. I relaxed there for 30 minutes and then walked back home. I didn’t have my cell or wallet, so I had no other way to get back.”

Brown’s walks have shifted the way he views Winnipeg and changed his perspective on the joys of slow exercise.

He walks an average of eight to 10 kilometers at a time, which usually takes him around 90 minutes.

He’s not missed a day, making sure to walk even when on holiday in Mexico, Hawaii and the United States.

He’s walked in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Banff, Quebec City and Saskatoon. He sticks to sidewalks and residential streets, steering clear of main roads, as he finds traffic distracting and drivers disrepectful of pedestrians.

“The hardest days are icy sidewalks or rainy days with large puddles,” he says. “I’ve been splashed many times by drivers.”

He has no intention of hanging up his walking shoes — the walks are a way of life now.

“I would have to be seriously injured or incredibly ill to stop me walking,” he says. “I truly feel that my walking helps prevent me from getting sick. I definitely get less colds or flu symptoms than the average person and I credit that to walking.”

av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca