As the countdown to Christmas draws closer, the next few days will see many people rushing to buy last-minute presents, eating delicious treats and, finally, getting around to preparing Christmas lunch.

One local ultrarunner will not be doing any of this however.

Over the past few weeks, Stephen Sammut Nurminen, 36, has been training hard and preparing for his last challenge of the year.

At 2pm on Friday, he will be running for 24 hours around the university track in Msida.  For every one kilometre he runs, one meal will be donated to Soup Kitchen OFM in Valletta, with the meals being provided by Dr Juice. He hopes to donate 200 meals to the homeless and in need this Christmas.

Runners who will be joining him will also be doing their part and additional meals will be donated for every kilometre covered by other athletes.

“Christmas is already a difficult time for those who are homeless, so I would like to do my part to ease that burden,” Sammut Nurminen said.

“I would like to raise meals for them so that they have food on their plate to give them the energy and strength to face the day ahead.”

Last year was the first time Sammut Nurminen ran in aid of the soup kitchen. In 16 hours, covering 132.8 kilometres, he donated 76 meals.

“On a personal level, I’m always looking for ways to push my limits and, this year, 24 hours will give us a better chance at raising more meals than we did last year,” he said.

He plans to run 10 kilometres and then walk one kilometre, where he will have time to eat. He will also be taking short breaks every 40 kilometres/five hours to get a quick massage and change apparel.

Last August, he had plans to run 365 kilometres across Sicily, but after 240 kilometres he found himself “broken” physically, with his feet full of blisters and legs chafed. 

“I’ve mostly been doing maintenance work which consists of very light jogging, indoor cycling and strength training,” he said.

“I also participated in a 174-kilometre ultra-run and a full marathon, so my body has some good mileage ahead of the challenge.”

For the past four weeks, he has reduced his sleep to three hours a night, so as not to suffer from fatigue during the 24-hour challenge.

What will he be listening to during Friday’s challenge?

“I normally listen to 1990s music and, believe it or not, I’m a Justin Bieber fan – a guilty pleasure,” he said.