At the stroke of midnight tonight, local ultrarunner Stephen Sammut Nurminen will begin his toughest challenge yet – running for 18 hours around the university athletics track in Msida.

It’s for a special cause: for every 10 minutes he runs, one meal will be donated to Soup Kitchen OFM in Valletta by meal preparation company Fortify Meals. This will result in 108 meals donated to the homeless and in need this Christmas.

This is not the first time Sammut Nurminen has set himself up for such a daunting challenge. Back in July, he ran the length of Malta three times (110km) in 12 hours in support of Richmond Foundation.

So, when Soup Kitchen OFM, run by Franciscan Father Marcellino Micallef, approached him to raise awareness about homelessness, the 35-year-old believed it would be the best initiative for his next challenge.

I know where my legs can take me, I need to see where my mind can go

“Apart from this being a personal challenge, I am also a huge advocate for mental health, and I thought about how during this festive season there are so many people who have no place to call home or cannot afford to put food on their plate, and how much that must affect these people mentally, so I want to do my bit and help them,” Sammut Nurminen told Times of Malta.

He said Soup Kitchen OFM receives 70 to 90 meal requests per day and it costs them around €4,000 a week to feed homeless people.

“I will be running from midnight until 6pm, and hopefully will fulfil the challenge, both for myself and for Soup Kitchen,” he said.

He plans to run for four hours straight and have 15-30-minute breaks in between and will be keeping his Instagram followers updated along the way. 

He sees the mental aspect as being his biggest challenge.

“I know where my legs can take me, I need to see where my mind can go.”

Those who wish to donate can go to www.soupkitchenofmvalletta.com