Man aims to run 241 km over three days for charity

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This article was published 26/12/2018 (2838 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

JUNEL Malapad will be lacing up his shoes this morning as he attempts to run 241 kilometres over the next three days, hoping to raise $5,000 for Siloam Mission.

Malapad plans to run his longest distance ever in the fourth annual Change Boxing Day to Running Day. This is the third year he is raising money for Siloam Mission, which he chose because it provides somewhere nice and warm for a lot of people in need.

He was inspired to start raising money when he learned about a woman who froze to death on the cold streets of Winnipeg. His daughter was also an inspiration.

“We were at the fireworks and I asked her if she was cold. She said, ‘It’s cold, but some people don’t have a home and we have somewhere to go that is nice and warm.’”

“I am running for Siloam Mission,” Malapad said. “In my mind, I will be thinking of people in the city that find themselves in a bad situation.”

Malapad raised $2,000 the first year and $3,200 last year.

The run starts at 11 a.m. today at The Forks Canopy Skating Rink. Malapad, and whoever wants to join him, will be running 3.3-km loops past the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, across the footbridge, down Taché, across Main Street Bridge and back to The Forks, which will take between 20 and 30 minutes to complete.

Malapad will run this loop 73 times for approximately 50 hours to reach 241 km.

Malapad plans to run 100 km today and Thursday, with three hours rest between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., and 50 km on Friday before running with whoever wants to join him to take the donations to Siloam Mission.

He has not trained as much as he wanted to. “Going into this season, I need to put things into perspective. I want to spend time with my family. I am grateful to be able to do that, since many people at Siloam Mission can’t.”

Donations and runners are welcome to come to The Forks or join him on the loop at any time. The Inn at The Forks is donating a room Wednesday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. for volunteers and runners to meet, store personal items and leave donations, as well as room for Malapad to rest. Donations of clothing such as socks, underwear, hats, mitts and jackets will also be accepted.

In June, Malapad and a friend ran on treadmills in the Lululemon Outlet store for 24 hours and raised $38,000 for CancerCare Manitoba. He also raises money each year for the Canadian Mental Health Association, running 160 km up and down Garbage Hill this year.

Donations can also be made at canadahelps.org/en/charities/siloammission-inc/#donate-now-pane by selecting Changing Boxing Day to Running Day — Junel Malapad.