Rain, shine or — in Monday’s case — freezing cold, you can catch Junel Malapad hitting the pavement for a good cause.
He’s spent the last 12 years running to fundraise for local charities. For the seventh Boxing Day in a row, Malapad began his goal to, as he puts it, “turn Boxing Day into Running Day” by running at The Forks to fundraise for Siloam Mission. The distance and time has varied over the years, but this year, he began at midnight Monday with the goal of running for 24 hours.
He could run anywhere from 100 to 160 kilometres in the span of a full day. By early Monday afternoon, he was beginning to feel the burn.
JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Junel Malapad, annual Siloam Mission fundraiser, centre (blue), leads a group of supporters on a 3.3 km route around the Forks Monday.
“It’s like the type of feeling you would get if you’re a weekend warrior and you wanted to work on your roof, you know? You’re tired, you’re achey,” he said while taking a quick break.
“But it is more than welcome to feel like this, because people are out there not living a good life. When I’m done, I’m back to my nice warm house and food in the fridge. So how I feel, it doesn’t really matter.”
The 52-year-old retired school caretaker is no stranger to tying up his running shoes to raise money. He started running after being warned of his high cholesterol by a doctor. When he was 40, he held his first fundraising run after his father died of cancer, and raised $3,000 for Cancer Care Manitoba. A recent run took him from the Ontario border to the Saskatchewan border over seven days to fundraise for various mental health organizations.
In the years since, he’s raised over $300,000 for different organizations.
“I could say running took my soul,” he joked.
Monday was set to add a sizable chunk to his donation dollar count. Two vehicles set up at The Forks for the day were used as makeshift donation boxes for winter clothing, and by Monday afternoon, he had raised just over $10,000 — thanks, in part, to a $7,500 donation from self storage company Access Storage.
Supporters have been joining him, both in person and remotely, to run chunks of the way with him. One friend — Jin Lee, who Malapad jokingly calls an “instigator” of his runs — will be running the whole way with him.
Running is, in many ways, Malapad’s life. He works part-time at a running shoe store, and leads running groups across the city. His advice to anyone inspired by him? You don’t have to go as hard as he does – but there are a lot of ways to start.
“If a person wants to run, find some people who can run with you. I lead three different run groups. Find that run group – find me,” he said.
“I’ll welcome you into a run group, and share anything that you wanted to know about running. And not just myself, but whoever’s in these run groups.”
Malapad is something of a local legend within Winnipeg’s running community. He has been recognized for his charity efforts in a few ways, including receiving an award from the Manitoba 150 project, which handed out awards to 150 Manitobans who “stand out for their role in making Manitoba such an amazing province,” in 2021.
“It always goes back to, for me anyways, to being an immigrant — my dad came to Canada, five kids in tow, and I’ve got to give back,” he said. “And that’s how I do it.”
Siloam Mission is seeking donations of winter coats, warm clothing, undergarments, pillows and pillowcases and other essential goods. The full list can be found here.
