Ask any runner and they’ll say nothing beats the feeling of crossing the finish line at an event.
It’s a sense of accomplishment that will be felt by nearly 3-thousand people on Oct. 18th at the 4th annual Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Half Marathon.
Race Director, Jonathan Torchia came up with the idea of a race in support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation following the death of his grandfather.
“My heart and soul was into this from day one,” Torchia says, a Winnipeg Paramedic.
“With the Heart and Stroke Foundation side of things, and with being tied to EMS and then being a runner. I just wanted to create something so awesome.”
Torchia’s goal of attracting 500 runners in the first year in 2012 was considered a lofty expectation. But he surpassed that benchmark with an unexpected 1,650 participants.
“I wanted to do something greater than just donate a few hundred dollars to the Heart and Stroke Foundation,” explains Torchia. And he did.
In its first year, the event raised $25,000 for the cause, then $50,000 in 2013 and another $65,000 in 2014. Torchia hopes to add another $75,000 this year.
“I’ve never planned any event in my entire life,” Torchia says. “Not even a birthday party, or gathering. I really had zero event planning skills. I was just a paramedic who loved to run and it just kind of evolved from there.”
Rewind 7 years, and Torchia could never have imagined being a race director, or even an avid runner for that matter.
“I played football, weight-lifted and hated running. I didn’t want anything to do with it,” he says.
“I was not the person I am sitting here today. I was a fairly larger person, I weighed 220 pounds.”
Jonathan decided to change his lifestyle by eating better and exercising. He began burning some extra calories on a treadmill at the local YMCA.
“I would be winded and exhausted,” Torchia says. “And just the fear of judgment and of what other people were thinking around you was always at the back of my mind.”
In 2 and a half years Torchia lost 60 pounds and picked-up an unexpected passion for running, complete with a collection of finishers medals from various events; 36 half marathons, 4 full marathons, 5 triathlons and several 5K and 10K races.
While Torchia won’t be crossing the finish lines at the WFPS race, every year he looks forward to watching all the participants reach their goal.
A special bell will be set up at the end of the course this year for all the runners who achieve a personal best time, to ring.
“Runners I see out in the community are really excited about it. They say they’re training to ring that bell. It’s something people are amped up for,” Torchia says.
While the race is sold out for another year – capped at 2,900 participants, there is still a need for more volunteers. Torchia says they are about 100 people shy of the 600 volunteers the event could use out on the course.
The race starts and finishes at the Canadian Mennonite University by Shaftesbury Boulevard and Grant Avenue.
Volunteer information and details on how to donate to the fundraising run is at wfpshalfmarathon.com.
Better Winnipeg is a weekly feature that focuses on people and events that make Winnipeg better. If you have suggestions for stories, send them to betterwinnipeg@globalnews.ca.
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