Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Half Marathon celebrates fifth anniversary

WINNIPEG — The fifth year of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) Half Marathon brought with it a record number of participants.

Participants had the option on Sunday to run a half marathon, 10k, or 5k at the event.

Last year the event had 2,900 runners and this year on the fifth anniversary over 3,200 runners.

The goal of the annual event is to raise money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Each year has seen an increase in dollars and an increase in participation. Organizers hope at the end of tallying the dollars from this years event they’ll be able to bring their total donation dollars over the five years to a quarter of a million.

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Jonathan Torchia is the Founder and Race Director and said he came up with this idea five years ago and he hopes to see it keep going for 10,15,20 years.

“The goals of the marathon I’ve always had from day one are to donate to Heart and Stroke Foundation. The second biggest goal is to create a running event that runners can really appreciate and want to continue doing over and over and over,” said Torchia.

Torchia said each year he meets new people with lots of special stories as to why they’re participating and he’s amazed by the variety of ages. Participants ranging from the age of 12 all the way to the 81-years-old.