How a Winnipeg man is running 24 hours straight for Siloam Mission

Malapad and friends have been running every Boxing Day since 2015, covering a 3.3 km route around The Forks for varying amounts of time and distances. (Source: Zach Kitchen, CTV News)

A Winnipeg man is once again raising money and awareness for Siloam Mission while demonstrating his passion for running and toughness against the bitter cold.

"Change Boxing Day to Running Day" began in 2015 when running enthusiast Junel Malapad just wanted to do something different the day after Christmas.

"I wanted to run because I don't like shopping," said Malapad. "So I invited some friends, I said I'm going to run on Boxing Day and see how far I go."

He said he ran around his neighbourhood and the city for 15 hours that first year, a total of 100 kilometres. "It was a beautiful blue-sky day, and as you know, a blue-sky day in Winnipeg means minus 41. Everything's frozen solid, but I had a good time with my friends," he said.

Malapad had so much fun, he decided to run again the following year, this time raising donations for Siloam Mission.

He's been doing it every Boxing Day since, running a 3.3 km route around The Forks for varying amounts of time and distances. This year he's running for 24 hours straight, from midnight to midnight.

"Of course its tough, but I've been running for 13 years, been doing ultra marathons," said Malapad. "I'm kind of conditioned I think to do it, and my recovery is a little bit faster than most.”

"It can be painful sometimes, but that's to be expected and I'm all for it."

Malapad isn't spending the entire 24 hours out in the cold. Inn at the Forks has donated a room for him to use to change clothes and stay dry as the day goes on. He said nutrition is also an important part of the process, but that it's really the support of his friends that keeps him going.

"I think it's like 13 hours in now, and I'm sure over 100 friends came to run a little bit of this with me," he said.

Malapad also has one running buddy who is doing the entire 24 hour marathon with him as well, "he keeps me motivated," he said.

He added that friends in Victoria, B.C. are also running on Boxing Day for their local food bank.

He said it doesn't matter which charity you support, as long as you give back. "Boxing Day originally was a day where the rich people boxed up food and stuff for their help on the 26th," said Malapad. "We've moved away from that, and I would love for people to just support each other."